Bonds to help KSFC pay subsidy: CM

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, AUG. 3. The Karnataka State Financial Corporation (KSFC) will mobilise resources to pay subsidies to small-scale industries by floating bonds, the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, has said.

He informed the Legislative Assembly on Friday that the arrears of subsidy stood at about Rs. 300 crores and it would not be possible to pay it in lump sum. Efforts would be made to disburse subsidy depending on the amount mobilised through bonds, he said.

Mr. Krishna, who was replying to a discussion on supplementary estimates (first installment), said the situation could be rectified by taking only ``hard decisions'' in the next three or four years. There was a time when farmers who benefited from irrigation paid betterment levy and water cess in advance. Should the Government continue to provide irrigation facilities if there was not even three per cent return on investment, he asked. He hoped that there would be a commitment in the House on charging a minimum user fee.

Relief: The Chief Minister said that out of the funds collected for providing relief to the victims of the cyclone in Orissa, the committee headed by the Minister for Large and Medium Industries, Mr. R. V. Deshpande, had spent Rs. 10 crores on constructing school buildings in that State. An additional Rs. 10.84 crores was available with the Government, and it was being utilised for similar projects, he added. In response to a clarification sought by Mr. C. Byre Gowda (JD-U), Mr. Krishna said the Government would examine the plea for preference to cold storages in the payment of subsidy. Mr. Byre Gowda said 18 of 34 cold storages in Kolar District had become defunct.

He was assured by Mr. Krishna that the Government would not tolerate any interference by officials to weaken the case filed by a party to dispossess HOPCOMS of prime land in Bangalore.

Walk-out: Earlier, Mr. Byre Gowda had staged a walk-out saying he would not insist on seeking a clarification if the Chair was not inclined to allow him to do so. He resorted to a walk-out even as the Speaker, Mr. M. V. Venkatappa, was asking him to speak. He was brought back to the House by Mr. B.N. Bachche Gowda (JD-U). The member clarified that he staged a walk-out not out of any disrespect for the Chair but to assuage his own feelings at some members repeatedly saying that he was getting more opportunities to speak than others since he hailed from the same district as the Speaker.

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Section  : Southern States
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