From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jun 20: The five-member panel formed by the Congress-JD(S) coalition’s coordination committee for drafting the HD Kumaraswamy’s government’s Common Minimum Programme (CMP) has decided to incorporate writing off cooperative sector farm loans till May 31, 2018 and grant of maternity pension of Rs 4,000 a month to women for the nine month period of pregnancy.

The decision to incorporate the waiver of cooperative sector agricultural loans in the CMP was taken following the insistence of JD(S) members and also payment of maternity pension to women of BPL families during the pregnancy term

The first meeting of the committee was held in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The committee circulated the first draft copy of the CMP which would include manifesto promises of both parties.

The panel members have decided to hold the next meeting on June 25.

All the committee members - former Union Minister and chairman of Congress manifesto Committee M Veerappa Moily, Revenue Minister R V Deshpande, Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar, Public Works Minister H D Revanna and Cooperation Minister Bandeppa Kashempur - arrived at a consensus on writing off farm loans and decided to incorporate in the draft CMP.

The CMP drafting committee would submit the draft of the CMP to the coordination committee panel headed by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the approval after the next meeting.

The committee was given time of 10 days for drafting the CMP.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Moily said the committee held preliminary discussions on drafting the CMP.

It was decided to study the successful farm loan waiver implemented by the Congress government in Punjab, he said.

Revanna said the committee has agreed to write off loans borrowed from cooperative institutions, which would amount to Rs 11,193 crore and about 22 lakh small and marginal farmers would benefit from it.

The coalition government has decided to study amount of loans borrowed from nationalised commercial banks.
Revanna also said that it was agreed to incorporate maternity benefit for families belonging to the below poverty line and increase old age pensions.

A monthly sum of Rs 4,000 would be provided each woman during the nine-month pregnancy period.