To launch construction of houses in Kodagu on Dec.8

Bengaluru: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday directed senior District Administrative officials to commence loan waiver process from Dec.5.

Speaking at a review meeting with Regional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and ZP Chief Executive Officers (CEO) at Vidhana Soudha, the CM directed the officials to collect all details related to loan waiver scheme before Dec.1.

Urging the DCs to keep middlemen outside while implementing the loan waiver scheme, the Chief Minister said that the Government has completed the formalities to implement the farm loan waiver scheme.

As many as 4,000 farmers have submitted affidavits in Sedam and Doddaballapur where the pilot project is being implemented, he said while also directing the officials to protect street vendors from harassment by money lenders.

Later speaking to press persons, Kumaraswamy said that his Government had achieved 90-92 percent progress in collecting information from Banks on crop loans that the farmers had borrowed.

“So far, we have collected information on crop loans borrowed by 20.80 lakh farmers from 33 Public Sector Banks and 21 lakh farmers from Co-operative Banks. Funds will be released to the Banks based on this information,” he said while hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for criticising his loan waiver scheme, which is pegged at Rs.45,000 crore.

Countering Opposition leader and State BJP President B.S. Yeddyurappa’s claim that the Government had achieved only 39 percent progress in terms of expenditure, Kumaraswamy said that till October, his Government had spent Rs.94,704 crore out of a total Budget of Rs.2.18 lakh crore, which translates into 43 percent and this is more than the 39 percent that the then BJP Government headed by Yeddyurappa had spent till October in 2008.

Stating that his Government has identified over 8,000 acres of land across the State to provide housing for farmers, the CM maintained that the Revenue Department has identified over 6,700 acres of Government land and 2,000 acres of private land will be purchased shortly.

Construction of houses in Kodagu to be flagged off on Dec.8: The CM further said that the Government will build 1,000 new houses at a cost of Rs.10 lakh each on a 120 acre land for those displaced in Kodagu floods and added that he will be flagging off the project on Dec.8.

Kumaraswamy thanked the Central Government for sanctioning Rs.546 crore for taking up relief operations in flood ravaged Kodagu district.