TAKING STOCK: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa (second from right) and Minister for Water Resources K.S.Eshwarappa (second from left) at the review meeting in Shimoga on Friday.

SHIMOGA: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said here on Friday that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy would hold discussions with officials of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on the problems arising out of reduction in its refinances to district cooperative banks in the State.

He was intervening a discussion at the district review meeting, which he held with the district officials, on the problems being faced by the Shimoga District Cooperative Central Bank (SDCCB) following the reduction in the refinance by NABARD.

Managing Director of SDCCB B.A. Mahadevappa said while the NABARD advanced Rs. 58 crore as refinance last year it reduced it to Rs. 40 crore this year. Due to this, the bank was not in a position to advance agricultural loans at 4 per cent interest as decided by the State Government, as the rate of interest for the loan advanced by the NABARD was 7 per cent. He said the bank planned to disburse agricultural loan of Rs. 126 crore to 47,000 farmers

Mr. Yediyurappa, while acknowledging the difficulties faced by the SDCCB in advancing the agricultural loan at reduced rate of interest, asked it to continue to make advances at the reduced rate of interest till the response of the NABARD to the state Government's request was known.

According to officials in the Agriculture Department sowing operations have been taken up in 1.1 lakh hectares of land of the target of 1.80 lakh hectares. Subsidised seeds worth Rs. 4.11 crore had been distributed among 84,000 small and marginal farmers.

Mr. Yediyurappa instructed officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department to complete the distribution of the ration cards under various categories before August 15. He warned of action against officials concerned if any complaints were found in the misuse of the kerosene and the LPG cylinders.

Deputy Director of Public Instruction S.L. Chauvan said that 7,324 girls had been identified for being given free bicycles and that the bicycles would be ready for distribution on August 15.

Tirtahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra urged the Government to sanction a high school for Bilalkoppa village in Tirthahalli taluk where the aided school had been closed.

Sorab MLA Kumar Bangarappa sought increase in the allocation of funds for drilling borewells from Rs. 50 a foot to Rs. 75.

District Health and Family Welfare Officer Shivalingaswamy said there was no severity of chikungunya though instances continued to be reported from parts of Shikaripur, Sorab and Bhadravati taluks.

He said there 26 posts of doctors in the government hospitals in the district were vacant and there were no applicants when recruitment was held recently. Mr. Yediyurappa suggested that services of private practitioners be utilised as an emergency measure till regular doctors were appointed.

When the Executive Engineer concerned said that the mini water supply scheme in Tirthahalli taluk was completed, Mr. Jnanendra contested his claim saying that it had remained incomplete for the several years. Taking serious note of it, Mr. Yediyurappa warned the engineer of serious action if his claim was found to be false.

Deputy Commissioner T.K. Anilkumar, zilla panchayat president Bharathi Manjunathaiah and vice-president K.M. Krishnamurthy were present.

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