Depositing Rs 1,400 crore does not affect MML, justifies Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s office denied BJP State president B S Yeddyurappa’s allegations that the state government had pressured Mysore Minerals Limited (MML) to make an investment of `1,400 crore in Apex Bank to finance the state’s waiver of co-operative loans to farmers for the current year. An official release issued on Saturday said farmers have benefited from the government’s decision to waive farm loans.

“In view of the urgent need to provide the necessary funds to cooperative banks and societies, the state government had decided to obtain certain deposits of investible surplus funds from Public Sector Undertakings and to provide the rest from out of State budget through suitable re-appropriations. This has been done because the loan waiver scheme had not proposed in the 2017-18 budget,” it said. “Accordingly, on September 28, 2017, a decision was taken by MML to deposit `1,400 crore with Apex Bank and the process is under way.

The decision does not affect the MML in any manner as the bank will give the same rate of interest that was earned by MML through commercial banks. The MML employees have nothing to worry as the state government will provide the necessary funds during the next financial year so that Apex Bank can return the deposit to MML in due course or as and when the public sector company needs those funds,” the release added. On Saturday, Yeddyurappa had accused the state government of putting pressure on MML to make a `1,400 crore investment in Apex Bank.