AT THE MEET: (From left) KPA vice-chairman Jeffry J.S. Rebello, UPASI president J.K. Thomas and KPA chairman S.P. Muthuraman at the Karnataka Planters Association's 48th annual conference in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: Karnataka Planters Association chairman S.P. Muthuraman on Wednesday urged Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh to raise the tea replanting subsidy to 40 per cent under the Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF).

Addressing the 48th annual conference of the association here, Mr. Muthuraman said that the Union Government had initially proposed a 40 per cent subsidy for those who opted for the scheme. However, it had brought this down to 30 per cent after an intervention by the Planning Commission. The association had learnt that this had been further brought down to 25 per cent, which would be of little use for tea development.

In Karnataka

Mr. Muthuraman said that the scheme had not taken off in Karnataka because of the condition that tea crop worth 200 per cent of the loan value had to be sold at auctions as a security measure. However, there were no auction centres in the State, he said. Further, tea growers would have to bear an additional expenditure of around Rs. 4 a kg if they were to send their crops to auctions in Coonoor, Coimbatore or Kochi

Mr. Muthuraman welcomed the report of the K.C. Reddy Committee on the Upper Bhadra Project, which has opposed the construction of dams at Magundi and Tegur Gudda as they would affect the plantation areas. He also said that the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on VAT had approved the four per cent rate on coffee powder and French coffee.

However, the State Government was yet to notify this. He requested Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy, who is also Minister in charge of Chikmagalur district, to take up the matter with Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

Mr. Muthuraman also requested the Minister to remove the limit of Rs. 3 lakh on agricultural loans at four per cent interest, so that coffee growers too could benefit from it.

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