Ministerial team to meet Central leaders

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 22. The Chief Minister, Mr. A. K. Antony, said on Saturday that a delegation led by the Agriculture Minister, Mrs. K. R. Gouri, and the Revenue Minister, Mr. K. M. Mani, would be going to Delhi in a day or two to take up the problems of the plantation sector in the State with the Centre.

Speaking to presspersons after a meeting of the Plantation Consultative Committee here, the Chief Minister said the delegation would take up the issue of slump in prices of rubber, coffee and pepper and related issues besides the delay in procurement of copra with the Union Ministers concerned.

Mr. Antony said the plantation sector was now facing a crisis and the Government would do everything possible to solve it. A permanent high-level committee consisting of Ministers and officials would be formed to address the problems of the agriculture sector including the plantation sector. The Government will be acting in cooperation with the planters and others in improving the quality and productivity of the crops so that they could be globally competitive. The details would be worked out later.

He said the Government proposed to bring a Bill for agriculture debt relief in the coming session of the Assembly. While loan write-off was impractical, the Bill will provide for comprehensive debt relief including waiver of interest. Debt relief would be discussed at the State-level Bankers Committee to be convened shortly.

The Government, he said, would urge the Centre to adopt a stand beneficial to the plantation sector in its budget. For giving a detailed memorandum on this, a delegation led by the Chief Minister would go to Delhi in December. The delegation will consist of Ministers and higher officials. Before that, he would impress upon the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee, the need to start copra procurement immediately.

He said the consultative committee had stressed the need for cooperation by all to tide over the crisis. The need for improving productivity would be discussed with the unions in the plantation sector. Efforts would be taken to prevent loss of employment in the sector.

Mr. Antony noted that the committee was meeting for the first time after 1995. In 1995, it was he who had convened the committee as the then Chief Minister. Today's meeting was attended by the Revenue Minister, Mr. K. M. Mani, the Finance Minister, Mr. K. Sankaranarayanan, the Agriculture Minister, Mrs. K. R. Gouri, the Forest Minister, Mr. K. Sudhakaran, and the Labour Minister, Mr. Babu Diwakaran.

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