CHENNAI: The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the main Opposition in the Assembly, crossed swords on Monday over issues relating to waiver of cooperative loans and issue of fresh loans.

Initiating the debate on the budget for 2006-2007, the former Minister for Cooperation, Pollachi V. Jayaraman, urged the Government to clarify whether the budgetary provision of Rs.1,000 crore was meant for disbursement of fresh crop loans or return of deposits on maturity to investors. Despite the Government's scheme for loan waiver, cooperative banks had not released the documents, including patta passbooks, and jewels pledged by farmers to get loan.

Though farmers in the delta region needed Rs.1,000 crore for taking up cultivation this season, only Rs.11.7 crore, including jewel loans, had been disbursed so far, Mr. Jayaraman said.

Intervening, Minister for Cooperation Ko.Si. Mani said instructions had been given to return the pledged material. All the needy farmers would be given crop loans.

Minister for Electricity Arcot N. Veerasamy said there would not be any problem for the cooperative banks to return the deposits.

"Irregularities by elected functionaries"

Mr. Mani said the problem in the return of deposits arose only because of irregularities committed by some elected functionaries during the AIADMK rule.

But Mr. Jayaraman said the cooperatives were managed only by special officers then.

The Treasury Benches also countered Mr. Jayaraman's charge that the quality of rice distributed through the public distribution system at the rate of Rs.2 a kg was bad.

Denying Mr. Jayaraman's claim that rice smuggling had become rampant, Food Minister E.V. Velu said the Chief Minister had ordered stringent measures, including invoking the Goondas Act, against the smugglers.

A total of 11 cases had been registered by the Food Cell police during the last 67 days, while the AIADMK Government, during the first five months of this year, had registered only11 cases, he said.

"Cost goes up"

On the AIADMK member's charge that there was a three-fold increase in the cost of construction materials, Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudi said the Government would prevent the attempts by some persons to artificially increase the price.

S.Ve. Sekar of the AIADMK urged the Government to make Vettiyans government employees, as they "co-existed with the dead" at cremation grounds.

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