Karnataka - Bangalore

Flood victims promised relief In the legislature

Special Correspondent

Farmers will be compensated without delay, Chief Minister assures Assembly

Bangalore: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has said there is no dearth of funds to provide relief to the victims of the recent floods in the State. Farmers will be compensated for crop loss without delay.

Replying to a debate on the havoc caused by drought and the recent floods, the Chief Minister said the State had not received any assistance from the Centre. A formal representation would be made to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar shortly.

Dissatisfied with the reply, the Opposition, led by Congress leaders M. Mallikarjun Kharge and N. Dharam Singh, staged a walkout.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said public property, including roads, which were damaged in heavy rain and floods would be repaired only after the rains stopped. While the Government had released Rs. 50 crore for relief works a few days ago, another Rs. 50 crore would be provided this week.

The State was expected to receive Rs. 123 crore during the current year under the Calamity Relief Fund. The Centre had informed the Government on Tuesday that it would soon release Rs. 23 crore. Funds had not been sanctioned under the National Calamity and Contingency Fund (NCCF), he said.

With reference to the package provided by the Union Government to prevent suicide by farmers, the Chief Minister said the Centre had released only Rs. 66 crore to the State of the Rs. 2,689 crore package for six districts. Though the State Government had submitted 17 detailed project reports on projects entailing an expenditure of Rs. 800 crore, the Centre had not cleared the proposals.

Congress members accused the Government of laxity in utilising funds sanctioned under the package.

On the Opposition’s charge that cooperative institutions had become financially unviable, he said cooperatives had disbursed Rs. 1,097 crore to 3.54 lakh farmers till June this financial year against Rs. 909 crore in 2006-07.

The loan weaver scheme of the Government had strengthened the cooperatives, he maintained. A sum of Rs. 750 crore had been released to the cooperative societies as part reimbursement for the loan waiver scheme.

He said there were various reasons for farmers committing suicide. As many as 708 farmers committed suicide in 2003-04, 270 in 2004-05, 163 in 2005-06, 320 in 2006-07 and 53 so far this year.

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