CHIKKAMAGALURU : Bringing relief to growers in the state, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has instructed the authorities concerned to stop banks from auctioning of coffee estates that have defaulted on loans.
Coffee growers of Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts had been in despair following the enforcement of the Sarfaesi Act, which empowered nationalised banks to auction estates that have defaulted on loans. Several associations had appealed to the Centre for the repealing of the “draconian” Sarfaesi Act, and Udupi–Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary had assured them that the law would be abrogated.
A delegation of MPs headed by Poojary on Tuesday met Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman in the presence of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and discussed how the Sarfaesi Act was making the lives of coffee growers miserable.
It is also reported that capitalising on the problems and with connivance of some bankers, some middlemen were reportedly setting traps to grab the defaulters’ estates.
More than 90% of coffee growers in Karnataka have small land holdings, and most of the defaulters were unaware that their lands were being auctioned online. She had assured the delegation that she would look into their concerns.
The delegation comprised Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, CN Manjunath, Kota Srinivasa Poojary and TD Mallesh, Kota Poojary and Deve Gowda.