The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Rs. 250 crore for loan waiver scheme in three days, says Yediyurappa

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Rs. 250 crore for loan waiver scheme in three days, says Yediyurappa

Staff Reporter

Another instalment to be released after vote-on-account is passed in the legislature

MEDIA-SAVVY: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa (right) and Minister for Energy H.D. Revanna inaugurating the telephone directory and website of the Bangalore Reporters' Guild at Press Club on Monday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

Bangalore: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who holds the Finance portfolio, said on Monday that the Finance Department will release Rs. 250 crore in three days for reimbursing the cooperative loan or interest waiver amount. Another instalment of the same amount will be made after the vote-on-account of the budget is passed in the legislature.

Launching the Bangalore Reporters Guild's website, Mr. Yediyurappa said he had assured release of Rs. 1,000 crore towards reimbursement this year out of which he had released Rs. 500 crore already.

He would not allow the finances of the cooperative institutions to be affected in any way, he said. If need be, more funds would be released.

The Finance Department had mobilised Rs. 659 crore more taxes this year, he said and added that it would take steps to plug pilferage.

Money for seeds

Referring to the demand of Minister for Energy and Public Works H.D. Revanna for supporting farmers' welfare measures, Mr. Yediyurappa said there was a need to provide seeds to farmers.

He said the Government had been giving subsidy for buying some seeds, but this year it would be extended to all seeds and he would not mind releasing another Rs. 10 crore or Rs. 20 crore for the purpose.

Mr. Yediyurappa said the Government Order implementing the increase in monthly honorarium to Devadasi women and to freedom fighters as mentioned in his budget would be issued in two days.

The Finance Minister said that he had been holding consultations with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy for taking welfare measures utilising the increase in tax collections.

Guild general secretary Vinay Madhav welcomed the gathering.

Guild president A.M. Suresh said the website contained valuable information required by reporters and desk journalists.

Mr. Yediyurappa felicitated him on the occasion.

Deve Gowda's stand

Mr. Revanna said neither Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda nor Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had "cheated" anybody and the confusion about the succession issue had been cleared by the former Prime Minister.

Releasing the annual diary brought out by the guild, Mr. Revanna said there was no need to attach too much importance to what Labour and Minorities Affairs Minister Iqbal Ansari had said about the successor to Mr. Kumaraswamy.

It was time to concentrate on the Karnataka Development Front's agenda, he said.

Mr. Revanna blamed the media for the confusion.

The Minister urged Mr.Yediyurappa, who also holds Finance portfolio, to allocate Rs. 300 crore for creating marketing facilities to farmers to sell their produce such as potato, onion and sugarcane during glut period.

He suggested for creating a fund with a corpus of Rs. 2 crore for helping journalists, when they fell sick or met with accidents.

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