The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rs. 13.35 cr. borrowed by weavers waived

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Friday, Nov 21, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rs. 13.35 cr. borrowed by weavers waived

N. Anand

CHENNAI: To bail out the 15,000 handloom weavers from the financial crisis, the State government, as a one-time measure, has waived the outstanding loan of Rs. 13.35 crore they have taken from the HUDCO under the Central government-sponsored house-cum-workshed scheme.

Presenting the State budget for 2008-2009, the Finance Minister had announced that the State would waive Rs.15 crore in loan borrowed by the weavers, who were unable to repay it. As of March 31, 2008, the amount payable to the HUDCO stood at Rs 13.35 crore. Co-optex, the nodal agency for implementing the scheme, paid Rs. 4.16 crore on behalf of dormant and liquidated co-operative societies and sought assistance to cover the balance.

In its order, the government said it would pay Rs. 8.99 crore to the HUDCO directly, and pay Rs. 4.16 crore to Co-optex in three equal annual instalments.

“Since the interest on the HUDCO loan is only 8 per cent, it will be more beneficial for the government to make the repayment as and when the repayment falls due rather than go in for a bulk repayment. The repayment can be staggered over the period from 2008 to 2015,” said Handlooms and Textiles Secretary Vishwanath Shegaonkar.

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