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| Raman mulls over interest-free farm loans |
| R Krishna Das / Kolkata/ Raipur Oct 03, 2009, 00:49 IST |
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The Chhattisgarh government is considering a proposal to provide interest free loan to the farmers in the state. “The state government is seriously examining the proposal and will soon take the decision to grant interest free loan to the farmers in Chhattisgarh,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said. This could be the best route any government could take to help the farmers, he added.
In last six years, the Chhattisgarh government has cut the interest rate on farm loan from 14-15 per cent to three per cent. The chief minister said Chhattisgarh was the first state in the country to provide loan at a token interest rate of three per cent.
"We plan to further bring the interest rate in phases to two and one per cent," Singh said, adding that in the next phase, the state government would provide interest free loan to the farmers. The state government was committed to work in the interest of farmers and poor people. Working on the line, it had launched a slew of schemes that include subsidised rice for the people living below poverty line (BPL) and free power to the farmers—the scheme that got off today.
Under the “Krusak Jeevan Jyoti Yojana”, the state government would provide free power to the farmers using irrigation pumps upto 5 Horsepower (HP). The scheme, as promised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the election manifesto for the state polls held in November last year, was formally launched on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti today. The eligible farmers will get 6,000 units of power free per year. If the consumption is beyond the free units, farmers will have to pay Re 1 for every additional unit. The free power scheme will cost Rs 132 crore to the state exchequer every year, sources said.
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