Co-operation Minister H S Mahadeva Prasad said on Sunday that the Congress government has decided to give loans of Rs 8,000 crore to 20 lakh farmers in the state.
“We have already covered 10.50 lakh farmers and distributed Rs 4,400 crore. During the previous year, the government had released Rs 3,600 crore for short-term and long-term loans,” he said.
Mahadevaprasad told reporters that around 80 per cent of the short term loans have been recovered. He said the government is keen to put an end to the monopoly of long-term account holders who avail loans repeatedly from co-operative societies and banks.
In this direction, the government has made it mandatory for banks to give loans to at least 25 per cent of the new members every year. “We also want to bring SC/STs into the cooperative sector and have set aside Rs 2 crore to pay the premium of dalit members,” he said.
He added that the government has waived loans worth Rs 36 crore taken by SC/STs in Primary Land Development (PLD) banks as many of them have defaulted over the years. The government has also released Rs 1,300 crore to cooperative societies and banks to waive the loans taken by farmers.
Yashaswini Scheme
Prasad said the government that has covered 30 lakh people under its Yashaswini health insurance scheme has decided to extend it to urban societies as well.
“Registrations will be held from February to June 2014 and those who are members of cooperative institutions can avail the facilities from the day of registration. Urban farmers will have to pay a higher premium,” he said.
The Minister said the valedictory function of the 60th Cooperative Week will be held in Gundlupet and around 15,000 cooperatives are expected to take part in the deliberations to discuss issues like covering more people and meeting the new challenges in the sector.
Ministers V Srinivasa Prasad, T B Jayachandra, H C Mahadevappa and Karnataka Co-operative Federation chairman G T Deve Gowda will participate.
No pressure on government on CBI probe
Prasad also said that there is no pressure on the government to order a CBI probe into the irregularities in Amanath Co-operative Bank. The government has ordered an inquiry and confiscated assets worth Rs 200 crore from those nailed in the inquiry report. The shareholders are in favour of handing over the bank to Canara Bank.