LAHORE, Dec 15: The Bank of Punjab will disburse an agriculture loan of Rs2 billion among farmers at a concessional rate during the year 2003.

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi at a press briefing here on Sunday. Mr Elahi said he would also talk to other banks, including the Agriculture Development Bank, to convince them to offer loans at low interest rates to the farming community.

Out of a total Rs2 billion, the BoP will provide Rs800 million to growers for the purchase of fertilizers, seed and pesticides at an interest rate of nine per cent instead of the current 13 per cent. The remaining Rs1.2 billion will be offered to farmers for tractors and other agriculture equipment at 11 per cent.

“The provision of agriculture loan at the reduced rates will provide the much-needed relief to farmers,” the chief minister said, and added he wished to bring down the interest rate to as low as three or four per cent. He claimed the decision to reduce interest rate on loans for farmers was taken in order to “improve the agriculture sector as it is the backbone of the economy”.

He said the development of agriculture was on top of the priority list, but his government would not ignore education and healthcare.

Pervaiz Elahi said the government was also studying some mechanism to slash the interest rate on the loans advanced by the BoP to farmers in the past.

A BoP official, present at the briefing, said his bank was increasing credit for agriculture to Rs2 billion next year from the existing Rs650-670 million. He said the provision of loans at reduced, concessional rates would not affect the profit margin of the bank.

The chief minister said the loans for the agriculture sector offered by the BoP would in future be recovered from the farmers under the Land Revenue Act to ensure a better recovery rate.

He said the government was also in the process of drawing up a comprehensive package to rid the farmers of excesses of patwaris as well as to reduce his role in the collection of abiana.

He said the province would also spend a sum of Rs1.75 billion on lining of 15,000km long 5,000 water courses to save 1,000 cusecs water every year. He said the saving of water would help bring another 200,000 acres under cultivation. POLICE: The chief minister avoided to answer a question relating to the violation of Police Rules, 2002, in the appointment of the city police chief of Lahore.

The government has posted an officer in BPS-20 as CPC in breach of the new rules that require that only a BPS-21 officer be posted against the post.

Mr Elahi also refused to answer the questions about a delay in the announcement of his cabinet and the differences with PML-Q president Mian Azhar, facing a no-trust motion moved by the chief minister’s cousin against him.