Supplyco refutes Kerala Bank’s claims on payment for paddy procurement

The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has countered the Kerala Bank’s claim blaming the former for the delay that prevailed in disbursing payments to farmers for paddy procurement.

In a statement, Supplyco chairman and managing director Sriram Venkitaraman said the claims made by the Kerala Bank were baseless and misleading. He also refuted the allegation that the bank had been excluded from the paddy receipt sheet (PRS) loan scheme.

Besides, Kerala Bank refused to accept the Supplyco’s demand that was made on the basis of the Centre’s directions to reduce interest rate, despite a consortium of banks including the State Bank of India (SBI) agreeing to provide loan at a rate of 6.9%. Supplyco was forced to avail loan from the consortium since the Kerala Bank remained unwilling to provide loan at a low interest rate in order to reduce the financial liability of the government, the official said.

He added the price of ₹28.20 per kg that is provided for paddy procurement is the highest in the country. In addition to the minimum support price provided by the Centre, the amount also included an incentive and bonus provided by the State government.

Kerala Bank had faulted Supplyco for failing to providing the list of beneficiaries and their contact details. The bank had granted ₹200 crore to Supplyco after it failed to obtain adequate loan from the consortium of banks. Of the loan sanctioned, an amount of ₹5.53 crore is yet to be disbursed among farmers. Supplyco was also yet to repay an earlier loan, the bank had stated a few days ago.