“Centre examining waiver of weavers' loans ”

The United Progressive Alliance Government is working out modalities for waiving the loans of handloom weavers, Union Minister of State for Textiles Panabaka Lakshmi said on Tuesday.

She inaugurated the Madhavaram Handloom Cluster common facility centre and dye house constructed with an outlay of Rs. 2 crores at SRK Nagar in Madhavaram – 1 village in Siddhavatam mandal. The Union Government has sanctioned only one handloom cluster at Chirala in Prakasam district, but subsequently included Madhavaram on the insistence of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Ms. Lakshmi said.

The former Chief Minister sought waiver of handloom weavers' loans last year, she recalled. As weavers are being granted loans individually and through handloom weaver cooperative societies, the Centre is examining the modalities for waiver, the Minister said.