Southern States - Karnataka   

Karnataka waives Rs. 127 cr. interest on crop loans

By Our Staff Reporter

The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, addressing a press conference after a Cabinet meeting in Banagalore on Wednesday. Also seen (from left) are: the Ministers, Mallikarjun Karge (Home), Kagodu Thimmappa (Information), and Vishwanath (Cooperation). — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE SEPT. 4. The Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, today announced waiver of interest of Rs. 127 crores on kharif crop loans of Rs. 975 crores disbursed this year in view of difficulties faced by the farmers due to drought.

Briefing presspersons after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet, Mr. Krishna said that cooperative societies had disbursed Rs. 975 crores to the farmers for kharif crops. Of the Rs. 127 crores waived, Rs. 63 crores would be paid directly to the NABARD.

Mr. Krishna said the Centre should share the rest of the burden on the exchequer and added that the State Government would request the Union Government to cooperate with it in helping the farmers. He said the Cabinet had also decided to convert short-term loans to farmers into medium-term loans.

An emergency Cabinet meeting was convened to discuss the next course of action in the light of the Supreme Court order directing the State Government to release 1.25 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu daily till the Cauvery River Authority took a decision on the water release.

The Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Information, Kagodu Thimmappa, said Ministers and Congress legislators had decided to donate a month's salary to the drought relief fund.

The Chief Minister appealed to State Government employees to donate a day's salary to mitigate the suffering of farmers and other drought-affected people. He recalled that they had responded to the Government's appeal during the Kargil conflict, Orissa floods, and the Gujarat earthquake.

Mr. Krishna said he would discuss the issue with the president and office-bearers of the Karnataka State Government Employees' Association.

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