Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Jul 22, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Jul 22, 2004 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Natural Calamities Kerala ministerial team to seek farm relief from Centre Our Bureau
Thiruvananthapuram , July 21 A THREE-MEMBER Cabinet Sub-Committee will be leaving for New Delhi on Thursday to apprise the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, about the plight of calamity-stricken farmers in the State. Announcing this in the State Assembly, the Chief Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, said the committee would comprise the Agriculture Minister, Ms K. R. Gowri, Revenue Minister Mr K.M. Mani, and Finance Minister Mr K. Sankaranarayanan. The committee would request the Prime Minister for liberal assistance to the State, where a situation had come about in which large numbers of debt-ridden farmers had committed suicide. According to the Chief Minister, the State had hardly received any relief funds, including the Rs 29 crore said to have been sanctioned by the Centre. The Government was also planning to come out with a special package for farmers, Mr Antony added. Debt growth decelerates: The Finance Minister, Mr Sankaranarayanan, told the House that the runaway growth in debt accretion had decelerated from a high of 24.8 per cent in 1999-2000 to 14.3 per cent during 2003-04. Resort to Reserve Bank overdraft facility had also been less frequent during the current financial year, the Minister said while replying to the debate on the Kerala Appropriation Bill. The total debts as on March 31, 2004, stood at Rs 36,254 crore. Out of the current year's Plan outlay of Rs 4,800 crore, Rs 1,350 crore had been set apart for local self-governments. This amount was being released in monthly instalments. According to the Minister, spending on salaries had more than doubled over a period of the past 10 years. Festival allowances would be paid in full for the Onam season ahead. Arrears in payment of welfare pensions would also be cleared. Opposition walkout: Earlier, the Opposition staged a walkout in protest against the Government's ham-handed approach in settling the issue of a fee structure applicable to self-financing professional college managements in the State. The walkout was precipitated after an adjournment motion was sought to be moved on the reported incident of the Mar Baselius Dental College, Kothamangalam, suspending a group of 14 students admitted in the merit quota for not having paid the Rs 1 lakh fees fixed by the management. It was argued in the Assembly that the students needed to pay just the fees fixed by the Government as per the new Kerala Self-Financing Professional Colleges (Fixation of Fees and Admission) law. But, the Education Minister, Mr Nalakath Soopy, contested this by saying that the fees mandated by law was effective only from the last academic year, and those suspended happened to be third year students. The Opposition walked out demanding that the self-financing professional college managements that threatened to defy Government fiat be reined in forthwith. Parallel colleges: The Government has requested the Centre to withdraw service tax on `parallel colleges' in the State, according to the Education Minister. Replying to a Calling Attention motion, the Minister said no restrictions had been imposed on private students registering themselves for various courses run by universities.
More Stories on : Natural Calamities | Kerala
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