The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : State eligible for Rs. 800-crore credit

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Friday, Apr 06, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

State eligible for Rs. 800-crore credit

Special Correspondent

If it accepts panel report on revitalisation of cooperative societies

CHENNAI: The sub-committee of Ministers on the Vaidyanathan Committee report on revitalisation of cooperative societies has presented its views to the Chief Minister, according to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

K.V. Raghavulu, Chief General Manager, NABARD, told a press conference on Thursday that Tamil Nadu would get a credit of Rs. 800 crore from the Centre if it accepted the committee's recommendations. The State Government would have to provide Rs. 400 crore.

Eleven out of 28 district central cooperative banks were incurring heavy losses. However, these figures pertained to the situation as on March 31, 2004, he said.

The package would help even financially weak cooperative banks to come out of the red. Once the Government accepted the recommendations, a memorandum of understanding would be signed between the State Government and NABARD.

During 2006-2007, the bank had provided an assistance of Rs. 1,638 crore to Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, he said. Of this, investment credit accounted for Rs. 522 crore; short-term credit Rs. 477 crore; releases from the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund Rs. 466 crore; co-financing operations Rs. 5.2 crore; and watershed development programme Rs. 6.3 crore, including grant of Rs. 4.9 crore.

This year, the releases from the RIDF were expected to be Rs. 1,200 crore.

Gap

Asked why there was a gap between the sanctioned amount (Rs. 827 crore) and the amount disbursed, Mr. Raghavulu said the change of government in the State and the administrative procedures were among the factors responsible.

The NABARD-post office-self-help groups linkage programme and the NABARD-GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) Grameen Tatkal Scheme were under implementation.

While the first project had been launched in Sivaganga, Pudukottai, Tiruvannamalai, Thanjavur and Tiruvuar districts, the other, envisaging a family-centric approach to lending, was being carried out in Salem and Sivaganga districts.

The response to the NABARD-PO-SHG linkage programme was positive. Even commercial banks had approached the Department of Posts for adopting a similar scheme using their funds.

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