Rs 82,000 cr loans provided to farmers: YSR

Ongole, Jun 1 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today said the Congress government has provided a whooping Rs 82,000 crore loans to farmers, against Rs 9,000 crore allocated during the previous nine-year TDP regime.

Participating in Ryotu Sadassu (farmer meetings), organised by the Agriculture department at Karamchedu in Prakasham district, Dr Reddy said the government was providing farm loans at seven per cent while the cooperative societies were extending loans at five per cent interest to the farmers for the last three years.

The opposition TDP and the NDA government at the Centre, during their rule had 'neglected' the agricultural sector, Dr Reddy said.

The Congress government was implementing all election promises, including free power to the agricultural sector, the Chief Minister said adding that the government had waived interest rates on farm loans to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore to protect the farmers.

Dr Reddy said water for irrigation would be provided to the farmers, cultivating their lands at the tail-end of Nagarjuna Sagar project.

All the drainages in Krishna delta regions and Nagarjuna Sagar canals would be modernised for optimum utilisation of water, he added.

UNI