A total of ₹361 crore has been sanctioned to 4.86 lakh Neighbourhood Group (NHG) members across the State under the Chief Minister’s Helping Hand Loan Scheme (CMHLS) being implemented through the Kudumbashree Mission.
The State government has allocated ₹2,000 crore under the scheme for immediate financial assistance to people to tide over the economic and livelihood travails inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan is sanctioned on the lines of the Resurgent Kerala Loan Scheme in the wake of the 2018 deluge. The interest component of 9% will be fully reimbursed by the State government.
So far, banks have sanctioned aid to 4.86 lakh members of 40,409 NHGs out of applications received from 22.55 lakh members of 1.96 lakh NHGs.
Kozhikode district tops the list in terms of the loan sanctioned with ₹116.67 crore, followed by Thrissur with ₹63.06 crore and Idukki with ₹52.95 crore. Sources in the Kudumbashree Mission pointed out that nationalised banks had been taking more time for processing applications compared to cooperative banks, which were more proactive.
Loans are sanctioned in four slabs with a minimum of ₹5,000 and a maximum of ₹20,000. “The eligibility is tied to the socio-economic vulnerabilities of the applicants. For instance, those facing job loss and higher health expenses are eligible for maximum loan. Those with monthly income in excess of ₹10,000 or government and quasi-government jobs will not be considered under the scheme,” said S. Ranjini, assistant district mission coordinator, Kudumbashree, Ernakulam.
Applications collected and vetted by the area development societies are forwarded to the community development societies, which in turn forward them to banks. A total of 42.05 lakh members of 2.29 NHGs have been included in the scheme, with the applications received so far accounting for a total loan requirement of ₹1,816.24 crore.
NHGs will have to repay the loan over a period of three years after an initial moratorium for the first six months.
