Minister: HDK, Gowda committed to N-K’s development

The commitment that former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy have towards development of North Karnataka is indisputable, Cooperation Minister Bandeppa Kashempur said on Saturday.

“Kumaraswamy was the first chief minister to hold the legislature session in Belagavi, where he built the Suvarna Soudha costing Rs 400 crore and earmarked Rs 1,500 crore to implement the D M Nanjundappa report on addressing regional imbalance,” Kashempur, a JD(S) leader, told reporters.

He also hailed Deve Gowda for getting “maximum” grants for the Upper Krishna Project when he was prime minister.

“Senior Congress leader
H K Patil may have expressed his displeasure over the budget neglecting north Karnataka due to political disgruntlement,” Kashempur said.

Loan waiver

The Finance department will issue an order to implement the cooperative crop loan waiver for farmers, up to Rs 1 lakh, in a week’s time, Kashempur said. “The incentive of Rs 1 lakh will be remitted directly to the farmers’ bank accounts. This will benefit 20 lakh farmers,” the minister said. Cooperative crop loans worth Rs 17,000 crore will be waived, a first in the country, he claimed.

It will be mandatory for cooperative banks to publish a list of farmers who have benefitted from loan waiver. “This will let people know how much loan has been waived for which farmer and prevent fraud.”

He said the government was preparing to announce minimum support price (MSP) for monsoon crops in the next 15 days. “Talks are underway with NABARD to fix MSP for crops like paddy. Soon, the government will send a proposal to the Centre."