Patna, March 26: The state government today informed the Legislative Council that it has sanctioned a sum of Rs 2.9 crore for the weavers to compensate the interest charged beyond the rate of four per cent on loans taken up to Rs 50,000 for cloth weaving.
Replying to a question of RJD’s Tanveer Hasan, who wanted to know what steps the state government is taking to provide loans to weavers at the rate of four per cent, industries department minister Renu Kumari Kushwaha said the government has sanctioned the amount for the current fiscal for which the funds are being made available to the institutional finance department.
“The department has also directed the district industrial centres to take necessary steps for the registration of power loom weavers on the pattern of handloom weavers,” Kushwaha added.
The minister said it would be a difficult task for the state government to provide electricity to weavers for 12 hours a day, as the matter was related with the state’s electricity board. “As far as waiving loans is concerned, the state government had sanctioned a sum of Rs 12.24 crore for the said purpose in 2006-07 under loan waiver scheme,” Kushwaha told the Council.
Out of Rs 12.24 crore, which was also made available to the institutional finance department, a sum of Rs 9.82 crore was made available to the district magistrates of the concerned district for beneficiaries, Kushwaha said, adding 12,185 weavers were benefited with the disbursement of Rs 7.42 crore and the remaining funds would also be distributed among them.
Responding to another question by JD (U) Binod Kumar Choudhary, agriculture minister, Narendra Singh said about 6.64 lakh metric tonne of urea for kharif in 2010 and 9.67 lakh metric tonne of urea for rabi season in 2010-11 is expected to be consumed in the state.
“With the increase in the use of fertilisers, the crop yield has also grown, which is evident from the productivity rise to 1,766 quintal per hectare from 1,546 quintal per hectare in 2007-08,” Singh said.
The government has fixed a subsidy of 25 per cent with the maximum amount being Rs 40,000 on the purchase of tractor, Singh said, adding that it would be difficult, to provide a subsidy of 50 per cent on the purchase of tractors as the Centre has made it clear in June last year that it was impossible to increase the subsidy amount to 50 per cent on tractor in the 11th Five Year Plan.