Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday that the loans provided by fishermen’s cooperative societies to fishermen would be made interest-free. He said this announcement would be made in the forthcoming State Budget.
He was speaking after inaugurating works and laying the foundation stone for more development works in Byndoor Assembly constituency as part of a ‘Sadhana Samavesha’ programme here.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that at present, these societies charge an interest rate of 4%. However, to help fishermen, these loans would be made interest-free. He said the State government had twice recommended to the Centre to give the tag of Scheduled Tribes (ST) to the fisherman community, but the latter had not responded. “However, we will once again make a recommendation to the Centre on the issue,” he said.
He said that the demand to include certain areas on the coastline from Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) III to CRZ II, to help fishermen build houses, would be considered by the government.
On the occasion, he also touched on the war of words over the celebration of Tipu Jayanti. He said it was not just Tipu Jayanti that was being celebrated by the State government, but also the birth anniversaries of 26 saints and social reformers including Ambigara Chowdayya and Sri Narayana Guru.
At Brahmavar
Later, speaking at the Sadhana Samavesha at Brahmavar, Mr. Siddaramaiah said all the government’s welfare schemes were for the benefit of the weaker sections of society. He said the objective of Anna Bhagya was to arrive at a hunger-free State.
Before the Ksheera Bhagya scheme, dairy farmers used to send 50 lakh litres of milk to the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). After the scheme, under which dairy farmers received subsidy, the quantum of milk supplied to KMF has increased to 75 lakh litres, he said.
With 157 Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees going online, the income of farmers in the State has increased by 38%, he claimed. Under the Krishi Bhagya scheme, 1.82 lakh agricultural pits have been dug to aid farmers. Furthermore, nearly 10 lakh women are receiving nutritious food under the Mathru Poorna scheme, Mr. Siddaramaiah added.
He said already 200 Indira Canteens providing breakfast and lunch at subsidised rates were functioning in Bengaluru, and the facility would soon be extended to the district and taluk headquarters. Under the Arogya Bhagya scheme, he said, BPL card-holders would be provided healthcare for free, he added. The Chief Minister also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using the communal card for political gains. But politics based on religion and caste has no place in society, he said.
Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports, U.T. Khadar, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, and Gopal Poojary, MLA, were among those present.
