93,000 farmers to benefit from loan waiver

A total of 93,000 farmers in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts will benefit from the loan waiver scheme announced by the State government. A sum of Rs 713 crore loans borrowed by the farmers are likely to be waived off in undivided DK district.

Speaking during the DH-PV phone in programme organised at DH-PV editorial office in Balmatta on Friday, B K Salim, Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Dakshina Kannada said that the outstanding crop loans pending in undidivided DK district was Rs 1,111 crore and Rs 713 crore come within the bracket of loan waiver.

In the first instalment of loan waiver, Rs 2 crore has been released and waived off farm loans borrowed by 305 farmers in Dakshina Kannada. Rs 74.73 lakh has been released to Udupi benefiting 95 farmers, he said.

SCDCC Bank Chairman M N Rajendra Kumar said “if there was any delay in getting loan waiver amount from the state government, the SCDCC Bank is committed to issue fresh farm loans to the farmers in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. We will not wait for the loan waiver amount to sanction farm loans to the farmers,” said.

Callers Prakash, Dayananda Shetty, Bhuvanesh Prabhu, Shashidhar, Vijaya, Pradeep raised concern over proposal to impose an income tax on the profits made by the sauharda cooperative banks.

Answering to the call, SCDCC Bank Chairman M N Rajendra Kumar said that the government has ruled out giving income tax exemption to profit-making cooperative banks. “We have been demanding to grant exemption under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act for small cooperatives and Sauharda cooperative banks and are fighting for the same at the national level. Under 80 P of the Income Tax Act, cooperatives and sauharda banks have to pay income tax of 33 % on the profits made by them.”

Further, he said “cooperatives do not get any single paise from the government. Even the government establishments deposit their amount in commercial and nationalised banks. We earn income through the deposits from the people. The cooperatives have been providing employment in rural areas and are helping in the growth of the country.”

Inspite of imposing income tax and demonetisation move of the government, the cooperatives are growing strong in Dakshina Kannada. The SCDCC Bank has already training the cooperative staff in implementing GST and income tax calculations.

When a caller Vijaya said that there was a need to carry out a legal fight against implementation of 80 P of the IT Act on Sauharda cooperatives, Rajendra Kumar said too batted him on the need for legal fight.

Caller Aboobakar Anilakatte said that the cooperative societies are not responding to the loan waiver scheme. To which, SCDCC Bank Chairman said that cooperative societies have given all the details on the loans borrowed by the farmers while nationalised banks are yet to furnish details to the State government.

Caller Shashidhar Shetty said that the flexes and cut outs are mounted beside the roads wishing Rajendra Kumar for successfully completing 25 years as a chairman of the SCDCC Bank. The flexes and cut outs mar City’s beauty and appealed to the M N Rajendra Kumar to direct well wishers not to mount flexes and cut outs, to which, he obliged to do so.