Dist Sahakari Bharati flays state govt’s farm loan waiver policies

Udupi: Sahakara Bharati of the Udupi distirct staged a protest against the state government’s loan waiving policies at entrance of the DC’s office at Manipal here on Tuesday, September 18, following which, a memorandum was submitted to the state government through the DC after the protest meet.

Addressing the protesters, Raviraj Hegde, State Vice President, Sahakara Bharati, demanded Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to waive off all farm loans as promised during the election campaign. Kumaraswamy, who holds the finance portfolio, announced a farm loan waiver of Rs. 34,000 as part of his party’s election commitment to the farmers, he said.

Hegde added that the state government has failed to correct the procedures while applying for the loan waiver. “The state government already gave the order to co-operative societies about the farm loans, but they placed some conditions on these waivers. Government has told the co-operative societies to deduct the farm loans from the deposits. The government has no right on the deposits of the farmers which they have kept for needs like their children’s education, wedding, house repair, health or other purposes,” he said.

Though Kumaraswamy annouced a waiver of farm loans worth Rs 34,000 crore in the state budget for fiscal year 2018-19 on July 5, it does not cover the loans granted by nationalized banks. As per our estimates, the total amount of crop loan raised by farmers across the state is about 1,26,000 crore, including interest owed over the years, he added.

Yashpal Suvarna, President of Fishermen Traders’ Association also addressed the protesters. He said that the role of the cooperative societies especially in the Udupi district, is for the support of farmers. But the families of the government officials and officials of cooperative sector, farmers who have paid income tax for the past three years and other people outside the purview of the loan waiver scheme have taken loans, he claimed.

Harish Acharya, State Sahakari Sanghaton Pramuk, Rajesh Shetty Kundapura, Katpady Shankar Poojary, and Suman Sharan State Women Chief also spoke during the occasion.

Bola Sandashiva Hegde district president, Madhusoodan Nayak, Manjunath S K., Cherkadi Ashok Kumar Shetty and others were present.