Karnataka
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Bangalore: Rs 730 cr Package to PACS Under Vaidyanathan Panel Report
- Sat, Oct 24 2009 10:49:23 PM
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, Oct 24: The B S Yeddyurappa regime has decided to offer a Rs 729.49 crore package for the revival of all Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) in Karnataka as per the A Vaidyanathan Committee’s recommendations.
Announcing the BJP regime’s decision to implement the Vaidyanathan panel’s report, Karnataka’s cooperation minister Laxman S Savadi said all the 21 district cooperative banks and 4,133 PACS would be made financially viable over the next five years.
The minister said the government proposed to implement the report by promulgating an ordinance for amending the Karnataka Cooperative Societies’ Act, which can be replaced by a bill in the forthcoming legislature session scheduled to be convened in November.
Out of the Rs 729.49 crore package, the Central government would contribute Rs 570.52 crore while the state government and PACS would pitch in with a contribution of Rs 90 crore and Rs 69.33 crore respectively.
Karnataka has signed a tripartite agreement with the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Centre for implementing the package on March 25, 2008.
All the cooperatives with recovery rate was above 30 per cent as on June 30, 2004 would be eligible to get funds under the package, the minister said.
Prof Vaidyanathan had submitted his report to the Centre on February 4, 2005 and it formulated a comprehensive revival package for PACS in 2006. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu Kashmir have already implemented the committee recommendations. The Centre had already released funds for Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, Savadi said.
The implementation of the report would change the administrative set-up of the cooperatives and curtail state government’s powers to interfere in the administrative and financial matters. It would also curb government nominations to cooperatives. The government share capital would be restricted to 25 %, thereby minimising the scope for interference.
Under the new system, the cooperatives have all powers to fix the rate of interest on deposits and loans. There was no compulsory rule to set aside 2 % of the profit made by cooperatives for the education fund. All depositors would be eligible to exercise their right to vote in the elections to members of the management committee.
Elections to the managing committee should be held within two months after its dissolution. The committee would be dissolved only if the society incurs financial loss for three years consecutively or on charges of misappropriation of funds and on the directive of the judiciary or lack of quorum for holding the committee meeting for a long time, the minister said.
The chief minister has written a letter to NABARD seeking additional loan assistance for rebuilding rural instructure damaged during the recent flood havoc in the state. The government had been availing loan assistance from NABARD under Regional Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) scheme since 1995-96.
``During the current year, an allocation of Rs 638 crore has been made for our state. However, the situation of rural infrastructure in the state has worsened due to the havoc caused by the unprecedented rains and floods, especially in the northern parts of Karnataka,’’ Yeddyurappa said pressing for additional loan assistance.
Meanwhile, the state government has extended the term of the one-man judicial inquiry commission headed by retired judge Kedambady Jagannatha Shetty into the police firing in Haveri by three more months. Two farmers were killed in Haveri on June 10 last year when police opened fire to quell farmers who turned violent during a protest over shortage of chemical fertliser stocks The commission's term was due to expire by this month-end.