Elections to co-operative institutions announced

As per the schedule chalked out by the government, elections for management committees of primary and secondary cooperative societies will be held between May 23 and June 14. Election for the post of office bearers in this sector will be held on June 24.
Speaking to reporters in Bangalore, Cooperation Minister Lakshman Savadi said elections to federal cooperative societies will be held between July 3 and July 13, while elections for the post of office bearers including president and vice-president will have to be completed before July 13. Election for apex cooperative societies will have been held before July 22.
The government move to announce the poll dates for cooperatives comes in the wake of the order of the Karnataka High Court that elections be completed before the stipulated dates. In all, elections for 5,970 cooperative institutions will be held.
While elections will be held for host of cooperative institutions including credit cooperative societies, primary agricultural and rural development banks, district central co-operative banks and various federations, the elections for KMF wherein incumbent chairman H D Revanna is likely to seek reelection will be keenly watched.
Loans
Savadi said the State government’s flagship programme of providing crop loans at three per cent interest to farmers through nationalised banks will be implemented from June 1.
The State government has been advancing loans at four per cent interest (3% from 2009-10) to farmers through cooperative institutions for the last two years now. The government, in its budget proposals this year, had announced that the scheme would be extended to all nationalised banks. Since nationalised banks charge seven per cent interest on such loans, the state will have to pay the difference, Savadi said.