The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the farm loan waiver announced during the recent assembly session in view of the severe drought in the state. The proposal would benefit 1.5 million farmers in the state who had availed farm loans from agriculture cooperative societies up to Rs 25,000 during the period between August 1, 2011 and July 25, 2012.
“The chief minister had announced the farm loan interest waiver in the state assembly last month in the wake of the severe drought gripping parts of the state. The financial burden on account of the interest waiver would be Rs 3,500 crore on the state exchequer. A government order giving effect to the proposal would be issued very soon,” Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, minister for primary and secondary education said. Briefing reporters after a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by chief minister Jagadish Shettar, here, he said the government was in pursuing with the Centre to share the burden with the state.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah had attacked the government on Wednesday for not issuing the order on farm loan waiver announced in the budget session of the legislature in July.
In another important decision, the state cabinet approved rural roads development programme in 189 rural assembly constituencies in the state at a cost of Rs 2,160 crore.
The government had planned to develop about 50 kms of rural roads in each of the 189 constituenceis. Of these, it has so far developed 20 kms in each and the remaining 30 kms would be developed this year, Kageri said.
The government also decided to construct 6,867 houses for economically weaker sections and distribution of 130,471 housing sites by the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) at a cost of Rs 7,888 crore.
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Kageri said the government has also decided to allow Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) to import 1.5 million metric tonnes coal for its second unit of 600 Mw thermal power plant in Udupi district. The decision of the cabinet allows the company to import coal with higher ash content of up to 12 per cent as against 4.75 per cent earlier.
The other decisions of the cabinet included allotment of 39.38 acres land in Bangalore East Taluk to National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) for its expansion, a grant of Rs 100 crore for National Land Records Modernisation Programme and Rs 50 crore to help farmers grow their own seeds in association with State Seed Development Corporation, Kageri added.