Bangalore: While agriculture and allied activities will continue to occupy the centre stage in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the Kumaraswamy-led coalition Government in the State, efforts have been made to incorporate the agenda for the State outlined by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in his "Vision Karnataka" document.

The Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party have drafted what could be described as a populist CMP which is also free from the ideologies of both the parties. The CMP of the new Government in the State is slated to be released on Wednesday and has received the approval of the Chief Minister. Top leaders of the Janata Dal (S) and the BJP have vetted the CMP, and it has a striking resemblance to the one adopted by the earlier coalition headed by N. Dharam Singh.

Rather than label it as CMP, the two parties have called it as their assurance aimed at providing an impetus to development of the State backed by a people-friendly administration. The "Vision Karnataka" presentation made by the President during his address to the joint session of the legislature on November 20 last also forms the basis for the CMP.

The Government is keen that all the assurances forming part of the CMP should be appropriately implemented, and towards that end a chairman for the coordination committee of the two parties will be appointed shortly.

To give a boost to extending farm loans at subsidised rates, the CMP has assured the farmers that the scheme will be extended to nationalised banks while hitherto only the cooperative banks had offered the scheme to the farmers.

While the Union budget has said that the nationalised banks will extend farm loans at seven per cent interest, the State Government has gone a step further and said that the one per cent difference will be borne by the State Government as a subsidy to the farmers.

Further, unauthorised cultivation on government lands (up to a ceiling of five acres) and that of cultivation on forest lands (up to a specific cut-off date) will also be regularised.

Sources in the Government said that the implementation of the CMP will cost not less than Rs. 1,000 crores a year.

The other important features of the CMP are improving the literacy level; drinking water and shelter for all; extending the area under irrigation; completing all major and minor irrigation projects; ensuring that drylands are also served by irrigation projects and stepping up electricity generation with a target of producing an additional 3,000 MW within the next three years.

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