Andhra Pradesh - Ongole   

Data sought from bankers on loans

ONGOLE: The State government has decided to waive margin money loans sanctioned by Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Finance Corporation over the last 30 years. The decision threatened to expose irregularities in the sanctioning of loans and nexus between bankers and brokers in denying the benefits to SC families and in defeating the objectives of welfare schemes.

The Scheduled Castes Corporation has sent letters to the ‘beneficiaries’ in Gudlur and Ulavapadu mandals that their margin money loans have been waived. The letters have caused more surprise than cheer among the addressees. They thronged the SC Corporation office here saying that they were never sanctioned any loans. Taken aback, the SC Corporation ordered inquiry to ascertain as what had happened 30 years ago.

Inquiries revealed that most of the loans sanctioned to SC families were misappropriated.

The government introduced several welfare schemes for the benefit of SCs in 1970s with 80 per cent bank loan and 20 per cent as margin money released by SC Corporation. As banks were reluctant to sanction the loans on the plea of poor recovery, the government provided 30 per cent as subsidy and 20 per cent as margin money and asked banks to provide only 50 per cent as loan from 1980s.

But that did not enthuse the banks much. Brokers entered the scene to exploit the situation. The brokers and bankers came to a tacit agreement under which the banks sanction the loans only on paper. Banks got their loan portion repaid even without disbursing it. The brokers would be happy if the banks released just subsidy and margin money without asking questions about grounding the schemes. Brokers knocked away subsidy and margin giving little or no share to the real beneficiary. The welfare programmes thus came to a naught leaving the SCs where they were for 30 years.

The bankers found themselves in a quandary when District Collector K. Devanand asked them to provide data on loans sanctioned in the last five years, their repayment schedule and those outstanding as on date. After much persuasion, the bankers agreed to provide data for the last five years. The data would help know as many loans got repaid without disbursement and expose hollowness of welfare schemes implemented for the last 30 years.

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