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Rajasthan for uniformity in cooperative laws

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, DEC. 8. Rajasthan has called upon the Centre to introduce a constitutional amendment for bringing uniformity to the cooperative laws all over the country with the objective of removing hurdles in strengthening rural economy in the current era of free trade. A national commission should also be appointed to make the cooperative sector stronger.

Making the plea at a conference of the Cooperative Ministers from various States in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Rajasthan Cooperative Minister, Madan Dilawar, said the cooperative sector -- being the key to solving the problems of rural backwardness and unemployment -- should be promoted at all levels.

Mr. Dilawar underlined the need to implement the Vikhe Patil Committee's recommendations for strengthening the cooperative sector and said there was no need to appoint a new committee to look into the same issues. "The appointment of the Vaidyanathan Committee after getting the previous committee's recommendations shows the Centre's lack of interest in solving the problems of the cooperative sector,'' he said.

The Minister said the Rajasthan Government was committed to doubling the cooperative loans for crops during the next three years and had already increased them by 42 per cent. He said the State Government had on its own reduced the interest rate on loans and wanted to gradually bring it down to only 9 per cent.

Mr. Dilawar sought the help of the Central Government and NABARD for reducing the interest rate on cooperative loans and urged NABARD to provide the facility of refinance to the cooperative banks at the rate of 4 per cent instead of the existing 5.25 per cent. Similarly, the refinance of crop loans disbursed by cooperative banks in the States should be increased from 30 to 50 per cent, he added.

Referring to the actions launched by the State Government in the cooperative sector, Mr. Dilawar said the Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, had announced a special package for cattle breeders early this week and associated them with the credit card facility in the first scheme of its kind. As regards the Kisan Credit Cards, Mr. Dilawar said they had been distributed to 32-lakh farmers in Rajasthan and as many as 27-lakh credit cards had been provided by the cooperative banks. He said the new cooperative law and the rules under it had been brought into force in the State and provisions made for free and fair elections in the cooperative bodies.

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