BENGALURU: The Centre has responded positively to Karnataka’s request to increase person-days of work under MGNREGA by an additional two crore days, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister KS Eshwarappa said on Wednesday. With this, Karnataka will get an additional allocation of Rs 900 crore during the year.
Eshwarappa had met Union Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture, Farmer Welfare & Panchayat Raj Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi on Tuesday. The State government also asked the Centre to increase per family employment from 100 days a year to 150 days a year in the 173 taluks declared flood affected by the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority.
He said the Union Minister has assured that an early decision will be taken to revise employment from 100 to 150 days per family in 173 taluks, and the State will receive additional funds of Rs 400 crore.
Karnataka has also requested the Centre to release Rs 1,119 crore for payment of material bills under MGNREGA, and sanction an additional 90 clusters of villages for development under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission.
Shobha writes to FM, seeks aid for coffee growers
Bengaluru: Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Shobha Karandlaje on Wednesday asked the Centre to extend relief measures to help coffee growers tide over their financial crisis. In a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the BJP leader demanded “restructuring of all existing loans, including crop, short-term and long-term loans, into one long-term loan with reduced rate of interest”. She also recommended that all crop loans and development loans availed by coffee growers, along with accrued interest, be converted into a single-term loan for a period of nine years, with a two-year moratorium and reduced rate of interest of 3 per cent per annum. “New loans should be extended with lower interest rate of 3 per cent for loans up to Rs 20 lakh for all categories of growers through commercial banks,” she stated. ENS