Andhra Pradesh - Cuddapah   

Loans to farmers at 3% interest sought

By Our Staff Reporter

CUDDAPAH, FEB. 15. Former Minister and TDP leader, R. Rajagopala Reddy, on Tuesday urged the Government to disburse loans at 3 per cent interest to farmers.

The Government should prove its pro-farmer claims by sinking borewells and installing power-saving devices for ryots' pumpsets, he said at a press conference here. Farmers raising crops under borewells were willing to pay water cess on a par with ayacutdars, if the Government installed the devices and supplied water, he observed. The Government could rescue the distressed farmers by installing power-saving devices, which required an outlay of Rs. 1,000 crores.

Lamenting that farmers languished for want of remunerative prices, he said reduction of interest burden and relaxation of crop insurance norms would improve the lot of distressed farmers. Farmers of drought-hit Rayalaseema region were not in a position to spend about Rs. 20,000 each on power-saving devices for their pumpsets, he said.

`Unjust move'

Mr. Rajagopala Reddy said irrigation projects were built with about Rs. 50,000 crores in the past and the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, took up projects with Rs. 46,000 crores now, and after supplying water at a nominal water cess of Rs. 200, it was unjust to leave ryots of drought-hit areas to fend for themselves. Interest-free loans were given to farmers in some nations, he said.

He charged the former Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, with neglecting the constitution of the Pay Revision Commission for Government employees in his rule, but demanding it now. It displayed Mr. Naidu's `doublespeak,' he alleged. Government employees were well off, adequately paid and granted retirement benefits, he maintained.

He advised the Government, TDP and other parties not to espouse the cause of employees and trade unions with a view to appeasing them. The outlay for employees' wage and allowance hikes should be diverted for farmers' welfare, the former Minister said.

No transparency

He alleged lack of transparency in the selection of Rajiv Yuva Shakti beneficiaries. Welcoming the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh's resolve to fight corruption, he advised all political parties to cooperate on the issue. Corruption at various levels was on a par with the tax revenue in the country, he observed. Flaying Mr. Chandrababu Naidu's charge that the Government had failed in talks with naxals, he urged all parties to strive unitedly to resolve the issue, rather than indulging in mudslinging against each other.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

Loans to farmers at 3% interest sought
Attack on VSS chief: Dalits stage dharna
Food scheme a failure, say TDP leaders
SVU to take over Brown Library

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu