K'taka: JD-S calls for waiver of farm loans

Bangalore, Jan 29: The National Executive of the Janata Dal (Secular) today urged the centre to start a new chapter by writing off farmers loans from cooperative credit instituions to ensure improvement in living conditions of farming community.

In a resolution, adopted unanimously, the resolution urged the centre to frame a firm policy to cover various crops of the farmers under crop insurances scheme. Contract farming, practiced in many parts of the country should be eliminated, it urged.

It said the government, in its next budget, shouyld make provisions to compensate commercial banks which write off farmers loans to ensure their financial health to continue credit disbursement to the farmers.

It observed that the government could start a new chapter by waiving such loans fully and completely and offer soft loans to the farmers at four per cent interest. If these measures were taken up then the condition of farmers would improve considerably, it felt.

UNI