Udupi : The micro finance institutions (MFIs) are exempted from ‘Runa Mukta Yojana’ as they are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesha said.

Thus public should not be fooled into paying money and becoming victims of fraud,” he warned while interacting with media at his office on Friday.

The deputy commissioner said a stay order from the court had also prevented the implementation of Runa Mukta scheme.

The deputy commissioner said a stay order from the court had also prevented the implementation of Runa Mukta scheme.

He said an awareness campaign would be launched to promote PM Kissan Scheme.

Jagadeesha said 1,34,217 farmers had availed the crop loans, while 1,03,277 farmers had not availed loans.

He said there are complaints against the paddy procurement centres for not purchasing the paddy. The administration’s decision is to support farmers as the market price for paddy is higher when compared to the price offered by paddy procurement centers. The government would intervene if the price of paddy falls in the market.

He said the administration had initiated an inquiry into the illegal stocking of sand. Nearly, 4 lakh tonnes of sand was sold out within a short span. Yet there were complaints from the public on not being able to get sand. This has raised suspicions on where did the sand go, he added.

A probe is underway and GPS of sand trucks is being verified, he said.

The district had permission to mine 4 lakh tonnes of sand. Karnataka Coastal Zone Management Authority is seeking permission to extract another 4 lakh tonnes of sand and permission is awaited, he said.

To a query, deputy commissioner said the work on flyovers at Shastri Circle in Kundapur and Padubidri junction was under progress.

The team and machinery involved in the construction of the flyover at Pumpwell was shifted to Kundapur to expedite the works, he said and added that the Company had promised to complete the work by April as against the March deadline.