Farm loan waiver details to be out by March: Kumaraswamy

Mysore, Feb 3 (UNI) Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today said the details of the waiver of farm loans taken from cooperative banks would be announced by March-end.

Marking his Government completing one year in office in a novel way by holding video conference with panchyat members of the State from the Abdul Nazir Saab State Institute of Rural Development here, he said the Government would arrive at a decision after holding talks with the Finance department.

Replying to various questions from the members, he said the Government was committed to decentralise powers to the three tier Panchyat Raj system in the State.

On the Government's 'Suvarna Karnataka' village adoption scheme, Mr Kumaraswamy said over 1,000 villages across the State have been selected on population basis through Gram panchayats and NGOs. The Government would spend Rs 1,000 crore for the overall development of the village. Besides, these villages would receive nearly Rs three to four crore from various other Central and State schemes. Cottage industries would be promoted in villages to prevent migration of youth to urban areas in search of jobs.

Defending his village stays, he said he had begun village stays to fill the gap between the Government and the people and such stays had helped him identity the loopholes in administration and lapses in various Government programmes.

Mr Kumaraswamy said his Government had decided not to celebrate its completion of one year in office in a big way. Instead, it would be more benefitting to have direct interactions with elected representatives at the grassroots level and get to know the omissions and commissions of the Government from them, he added.

''I am under no illusion. I know that my Government has had its fair share of success and failures. I am ready for an open discussion on both and it is also an open secret that successive Governments have failed to meet the aspirations of the rural people.

It is a fact that over 25 lakh rural population in Karnataka either do not have a roof over their head or a site,'' he said.

Mr Kumaraswamy said that despite the Government issuing nearly 90 lakh BPL cards as against the Centre's guidelines for only 31 lakhs, applications were still coming in and touched nearly 1.05 crore.

On housing schemes, he said the Government intended to construct nearly six lakh houses in the State. However, the delay in selecting beneficiaries by the gram panchyats concerned was causing concern.

The Government was planning to make Karnataka a hutless and slumless State in another three to four years.

Nearly 90,000 members of Zilla Panchyats, Taluk Panchyats and Gram Panchyats watched the proceedings in 176 taluk headquarters.

UNI