MANGALORE: The presidents of district central cooperative (DCC) banks in the State and directors of Karnataka State Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd., who met here on Thursday, resolved to oppose the recommendations of the A. Vaidyanathan Committee on revamping the cooperative sector in the country. The meet said the report of the committee can be accepted only after some modifications.

M.N. Rajendra Kumar, president, Karnataka State Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd. presided over the meeting while Gopalakrishne Gowda, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, was present.

The meet said a committee constituted by the Centre has also looked into several aspects of cooperative institutions in loss.

As per the recommendations of the committee, cooperative institutions in loss, whose recovery percentage stands above 50 per cent, are eligible to some Government benefits, it said.

Mr. Kumar noted that cooperative authorities in Punjab, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have opposed the report of the Vaidyanathan Committee.

Mr. Kumar said that after the Government hinted at waiving interest on crop loans in recent years, the loan recovery percentage of DCC banks in the State has come down by 16 per cent in a year.

On April 27, the State Government passed an order waiving interest on short and medium-term crop loans, medium-term conversion loans and long-term loans advanced by cooperative institutions to farmers between 2001 and 2004 on some conditions. It decided to reimburse the interest and penal interest waived on such loans to cooperative institutions. Accordingly, the Government has reserved Rs. 450 crores in the budget.

Mr. Kumar said this benefit should not be confined only to farmers who cannot pay the interest on loans but also extended to those who have already paid their loans with interest. It should be done in such a way that those farmers, who have already paid the loans, should be exempted from paying interest when they seek a loan again.

If this is not done, Mr. Kumar said, wrong signals will be sent to farmers, who may see prompt payment as a liability.

Himavantha Gopal, Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Mysore, also participated in the meeting.

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