Bhubaneswar: The state government on Friday announced that landless farmers would get loans at 1 per cent interest through the state co-operative banks.

Earlier, the landless farmers had to depend on private financers and take loans from moneylenders.

Co-operation minister Surya Narayan Patro said: "To get loans, the farmers will have to form a joint liability group. Each group will consist of five farmers, and the group will be given Rs 50,000. Each member will be the guarantor for the other and the entire group will be liable to repay loans."

He said: "All the co-operative banks will be directed to disburse the loans once the group applies for the credit."

The state aims to disburse Rs 7,200 crore loans during the kharif season. "At present, 27,000 co-operative societies are in the state. Each society will disburse loans to a minimum 10 groups. There is no limit to the maximum groups."

The farmers will be asked to apply for the loans in next one month.

"They should not give loans to the BJD workers only. The actual farmers should get loans," said Congress leader Sarat Rout. BJP leader Sajjan Sharma said the state was yet to identify the share-croppers.

In another development, the state government has decided to reduce the share linkage of co-operative societies to enable farmers to get agriculture term loans from the existing 10 per cent to the nominal fixed rates.

According to the new decision, the share linkage of co-operative societies will be Rs 500 for loan up to Rs 5 lakh, Rs 750 for loan between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, Rs 850 for loan above Rs 10 lakh and up to Rs 15 lakh and Rs 1,000 for loan above Rs 15 lakh.

Officials also said that to finance the farmers, the state was also taking the help of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

"An amount of Rs 4,585 crore was disbursed to the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation for its paddy procurement operations during the year 2017-18," an official said.