The Hindu Business Line : Kerala Govt to amend Money-lenders Act

Thiruvananthapuram March 26 The Kerala Government will amend the Money-lenders Act to deal with the private banks that operate in violation of rules in the State.

The Finance Minister, Dr Thomas Isaac, said in the State Assembly on Monday that the Act would contain provisions to curb exploitation by hire-purchase companies also.

Replying to a question, the Minister said that the prices of cement and other construction materials had gone up in the wake of changes in the excise duty structure. While the prices of ACC, MCC and Sankar brands had increased by Rs 12 a bag, the price of Birla brand had gone up by Rs 10. Since the cement prices have a direct bearing on the construction sector, the matter would be taken up with the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, the Minister said.

POWER TARIFFS

The Electricity Minister, Mr A.K. Balan, informed the House that the Government had not taken any decision to hike the power tariffs.

He said that the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had been incurring a loss of Rs 10 crore due to reduction in power tariff effected by the previous government in January last year. The tariff was cut without the approval of the Cabinet or the Finance Department, he said. Mr Balan said that around 12.65 lakh electronic meters were installed in the State between April 1, 2004 and February this year. The board had detected 2,682 power theft cases during the past two years and levied a penalty of Rs 22. 37 crore.

FARMER SUICIDE

The Agriculture Minister, Mr Mullakara Rethnakaran told the House that 101 farmers had committed suicide in the past 10 months. Out of them, 46 deaths were reported from Wayanad, 11 from Kozhikode and 10 from Thiruvananthapuram districts. No deaths were reported from Malappuaram and Kannur districts, he added.

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