Siddu promises relief for distressed farmers

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised that he would set up a One Time Settlement (OTS) for distressed farmers from Ballari who had taken loans from the Grameen Bank.

He made the remarks after a meeting with farmer leaders. The CM said he would hold a meeting with officials of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Canara Bank, apart from the Chief Secretary and Deputy CS of the Finance Department to arrive at a solution.

The farmers were led by Congress MLA BR Patil and Melukote MLA Darshan Puttannaiah.

“Farmers who have acquired loans from Karnataka Grameena Bank have been finding it difficult to pay back loans because of issues such as excess rain and drought besides not getting proper prices for produce,” Siddaramaiah said.

“The farmers claimed that interest that had been accrued over time on the loans had been an additional problem, alleging harassment on part of bank officials.

As a result, they have been staging a sit-in for eight months. Siddaramaiah said that he’d look into a solution wherein farmers can pay 50 per cent of the original principal amount and fulfill their loan obligations thus.

Back in July, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism HK Patil had disclosed that the State government would levy a penalty of Rs6,105 crores on private mining companies in an OTS for violating the terms of their agreements since the cases had been subjudiced.