Per Sri A. Hazarath Rao, President:-

        The complainant filed this complaint U/S 12 of the Consumer Protection Act seeking return of gold ornaments treating the loan as time barred and for costs.

2.      In brief the averments of the complaint are these:  

        The complainant obtained loan on 23-01-07 by pledging gold ornaments vide G.L.A.G.L.2006/223.   Meanwhile the Government of India announced waiver of agricultural gold loans.  The opposite party issued a notice on 04-01-10 demanding payment of gold loan amount.   The complainant is a small farmer and is covered by debt relief scheme.  The complaint therefore be allowed.

3.    The contention of the opposite party in brief is hereunder:  

        The complainant availed gold loan of Rs.80,000/- on 23-01-07 vide G.L.A.G.L.2006/223 by pledging gold ornaments and executing necessary documents.   The complainant fell due in a sum of Rs.1,14,696/- by 17-02-10.   The complainant failed to fulfill the other conditions i.e., 2 and 3 of Debt Waiver Scheme.

4.    Exs.A-1 to A-4 on behalf of complainant and Exs.B-1 to B-3 on behalf of opposite party were marked.

5.   Now the points that arose for consideration are:

1. Whether the opposite party committed deficiency of service?
2. To what relief?

6.    POINT No.1:-   The deficiency alleged by the complainant is that the opposite party failed to apply the Debt Waiver Scheme, 2008.               

7.     The relevant portion in the guidelines issued under the Debt Waiver & Relief Scheme, 2008 are detailed hereunder:

1. Introduction:
   1. The Finance Minster, in his Budget speech for 2008-09, announced a Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme for farmers.
   2. Guidelines for implementation of the Scheme are given below.

1. SCOPE:
   1. The scheme will cover direct agricultural loans extended to marginal and small farmers’ and ‘other farmers’ by Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Credit Institutions (including Urban Cooperative Banks) and Local Area Banks (herein after referred to compendiously as “lending institutions”) as indicated in the Guidelines.
   2. The scheme shall come into force with immediate effect.
2. Definitions:
   1. Direct Agricultural Loans means Short Term Production Loans and Investment Loans provided directly to farmers for agricultural purposes.   This would also include such loans provided directly to groups of individual farmers (for example Self Help Groups and Joint Liability Groups), provided Banks maintain disaggregated data of the loan extended to each farmer belonging to that group.
   2. Short Term Production Loan means a loan given in connection with the raising of crops which is to be repaid within 18 months.   It will include working capital loan, not exceeding Rs.1 lakh, for traditional and non traditional plantations and horticulture.
   3. -
   4. -
   5. Marginal Farmer means a farmer cultivating (as owner or tenant or share cropper) agricultural land up to 1 hectare (2.5 acres).
   6. Small farmer means a farmer cultivating (as owner or tenant or share cropper) agricultural land of more than 1 hectare and upto 2 hectares (5 acres)
   7. Other Farmer means a farmer cultivating (as owner or tenant or share cropper) agricultural land of more than 2 hectares (more than 5 acres).

Explanation:

1. -
2. -
3. In case of a farmer who has obtained investment credit for allied activities where the principal loan amount does not exceed Rs.50,000/-, he would be classified as “small and marginal farmer” and, where the principal amount exceeds Rs.50,000/- he would be classified as ‘other farmer’, irrespective in both cases of the size of the land holding, if any.

4.   Eligible amount:

          4.1   The amount eligible for debt waiver or debt relief, as              the case may be (hereinafter referred to as the                           eligible amount) shall comprise of:

          a) In the case of a short-term production loan, the                             amount of such loan (together with applicable interest);

          i) Disbursed up to March 31, 2007 and overdue as on                 December 31, 2007 and remaining unpaid until                         February 29, 2008.

          ii) restructured and rescheduled by Banks in 2004 and in                    2006 through the special packages announced by                                 the Central Government, whether overdue or not; and

          iii) restructured and rescheduled in the normal course                up to March 31, 2007 as per applicable RBI guidelines                 on account of natural calamities, whether overdue

               or not.

5. Debt Waiver:

          5.1 In the case of a small or marginal farmer the entire                             eligible amount shall be waived.

6. Debt Relief:

          6.1   In the case of ‘other farmers’,  there will be a one          time settlement (OTS) Scheme under which the farmer will be given a rebate of 25 per cent of the    ‘eligible amount’ subject to the condition that the           farmer pays the balance of 75 percent of the eligible     amount’;

8.     To show that he is a small farmer the complainant filed copy of pass book marked as Ex.A-4 and land revenue receipt dated 10-05-08.   Both Ex.A-3 copy of passbook and Ex.A-4 copy of land revenue receipt were in the name of Poluri Padmavathi w/o Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy and loan was not in the name of the borrower.   On the other hand the opposite party filed copy of loan application of the complainant (Ex.B1) wherein he had mentioned that he owned about 4 acres of land in Narasaraopet village.   The complainant failed to prove that he owned 4 acres of land in Narasaraopet village.  Instead of filing his documents the complainant filed pattadar passbook and land revenue receipt showing that his wife owned land.   Ex.A-3 revenue receipt and Ex.A-4 pass book raised a doubt regarding the land possessed by the complainant and falsified the contention of the complainant about he owning 4 acres of land in Narasaraopet.   An adverse inference also can be drawn against the complainant for not filing the document showing the extent of land mentioned in Ex.B-1 application.   We therefore opine that the complainant miserably failed to establish about he owning lands and a farmer.  In view of afore mentioned discussions, this point is answered in favour of the opposite party.

9.    POINT No.2:-     In view of the above discussions, the complaint is dismissed without costs.

Dictated to Junior Steno, transcribed by her, corrected by me and pronounced in the open Forum dated this the 15th day of April, 2011.

Sd/-XXX                                           Sd/-XXX                             Sd/-XXX

MEMBER                                                         MEMBER                                 PRESIDENT

APPENDIX OF EVIDENCE

    DOCUMENTS MARKED

For Complainant:

For opposite party:        

                                                                                           PRESIDENT