Rehabilitation of 5,451 tanks, the primary source of irrigation for rainfed farming, has been identified as a critical infrastructure requirement in Pudukottai district by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in its Potential Linked Credit Plan (PLP) for the district for 2019-20.
The district is known as a land of tanks and the PLP suggests the desilting and strengthening of supply channels, bunds and repairing of outlets of the tanks. The plan has also mapped sector-wise infrastructure requirements such as drying yards and processing centres with storage godowns in every block, construction of check dams across the South Vellar, additional fish landing centres at three places and establishment of farm ponds, strengthening infrastructure at Aavin, cold storage for storing perishable goods and community borewells.
Releasing the PLP at a District Bankers Committee meeting here on Thursday, Collector S. Ganesh called upon bankers to extend adequate and timely credit to farmers sustain growth in the wake of the destruction caused by Cyclone Gaja.
He requested the bankers and district officials to help accelerate development of agriculture and allied activities by exploiting the identified potential. He called for a coordinated approach by bankers, government departments, research institutions, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, NGOs and farmers.
The PLP projects a credit flow potential of ₹4,598.15 crore in the district during 2019-20, an increase of 9.52% over the current financial year. Credit requirement of short term crop loan in the district is estimated at ₹2,410.87 crore and term loan for allied sectors is projected at ₹727.38crore. The estimate for medium, small and medium enterprise sector stood at ₹232.80 crore, a NABARD press release said.
As per the revised guidelines on priority sector lending by RBI, the plan has also been assessed the credit potential for agriculture infrastructure, ancillary activities such as food and agro processing sector, export credit, education, housing, renewable energy, loans to self help groups and joint liability groups and social infrastructure involving bank credit.
The potential for agriculture infrastructure is estimated at ₹201.16crore and for food and agro processing sector at ₹308.22 crore.
S. Somasundaram, District Development Manager, NABARD, Pudukkottai, said the “Climate Change Literacy Campaign 2018” organised by the bank in the district focused on water conservation, adaptation to climate change and risk mitigation. About 160 works were under way under NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund at a cost of about ₹ 353.31crore.
