Launches Cooperative Week celebrations in Belagavi
The State government has drawn an ambitious plan of promoting at least one cooperative society in each gram panchayat and enrol every farmer in at least one cooperative institution.
“We want to see a minimum of one cooperative in each gram panchayat. It can be a credit cooperative or a product cooperative. We will support the formation of such institutions. We also want each farmer to be enrolled in a cooperative,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said at the launch of the Cooperative Week celebrations in Belagavi on Tuesday.
He said only around 22 lakh farmers were members of cooperative societies in the State now. This has to increase and each farmer has to be included in the cooperative movement. Quoting Pandit Nehru, he said India would be a developed country in a few years if every village had a school, a panchayat and a cooperative society.
He recalled that to enrol members of SC/ST, OBC communities and women in cooperative societies, the State government had paid the share amounts necessary for membership of such societies. “We have paid Rs. 49 crore in share capital to enrol 11 lakh people as members of cooperatives. We have instructed officials to ensure representation of all deprived communities.”
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the reach of cooperatives had increased after the Congress came to power. Earlier only 16 lakh farmers were getting loans, but now 23 lakh farmers were being covered.
He said he had released Rs. 1,090 crore to the Apex bank to pay for waived farm loans. “We have also deposited Rs. 1,400 crore in the bank. We will release Rs. 3,000 crore in the revised estimates to be presented in the winter session. We will also release the rest in the next year’s budget planned for February.”
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that while the State had waived cooperative loans of Rs. 8,000 crore, it had no authority on the loans by nationalised banks and regional rural banks. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have refused to waive farm loans, saying that would damage the country’s economy. But they willingly waive corporate loans, as if that would not damage the national economy, he said. Karnataka has reduced the interest on loans to SHGs to zero from four per cent. “We have also waived loans by weavers three times after coming to power.”
Apex bank chairman K.N. Rajanna wanted the State government to deposit its funds in district cooperative banks. Minister H.K. Patil asked cooperative leaders to strive hard to make all cooperatives profit making. Now, around 34per cent of societies are loss making. They should be turned around, he said. Ramesh Jarkiholi, Minister for Cooperation, and others were present.