Chandigarh, Dec. 29 -- Debt burden on Punjab's peasantry has crossed a whopping Rs.1 lakh crore, with a major share, Rs.85,460 crore, owed to commercial banks, a worrying trend given the stringent recovery norms and heavy penalties on defaulters.

According to the data shared by the Punjab state farmers' and farm workers' commission up to March 2024, there are 23.28 lakh bank accounts which have taken loans from the commercial banks.

The commission was established in 2017 to examine and review the status of agriculture and allied sectors in the state and that of rural infrastructure; to suggest measures of economically viable and ecologically sustainable agriculture development.

Maharashtra has the highest institutional rural debt at Rs...