No shortage of funds for loan waiver: CM

The coalition government has a clear picture of all the development works, including the loan waiver scheme, announced by it, said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Indira Canteen and laying foundation stone for various development works, worth Rs 150 crore, in Sringeri on Friday.

“The coalition government has introduced several welfare programmes. There is no shortage of funds for the loan waiver scheme of the government. There was a delay in collecting information on loans borrowed by the farmers from cooperative societies and nationalised banks. The waived amount will be credited to the accounts of the farmers in a phased manner.”

The government will pay the interest on the loans borrowed by farmers from primary agriculture cooperative societies. The deadline for the payment of the principal amount will be extended, he added.

The state government has launched the Badavara Bandhu Scheme for the street vendors which will help them get interest-free loans up to Rs 50,000. Those who repay the amount honestly will get an additional amount in the future. To promote entrepreneurship among the members of SHG (self-help group), an amount of Rs 10 lakh will be released to them under Kayaka Scheme. Of the total Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh is interest-free and the remaining will be charged at the interest rate of 4%, Kumaraswamy said.

He, further, said that free education would be imparted to female children till the degree level in government colleges. The government has earmarked Rs 1,200 crore for the construction of government school buildings, Kumaraswamy added.