THOOTHUKUDI
Following complaints from the public and members of self-help groups about harassment by private finance firms and micro finance firms to repay loans with interest as per the schedule, a meeting that was organised here on Tuesday by Collector K. Senthil Raj has resolved not to harass borrowers.
After the lockdown derailed the functioning of private companies, manufacturing units and farming operations since March 2020, those who had availed loans from the private finance firms and micro lending firms are struggling to repay the borrowings with the interest due to job loss. However, the borrowers are under extreme pressure from the moneylenders.
They submitted petitions to Dr. Senthil Raj appealing to him to buy more time to repay the loan. When he met the bankers and representatives of commercial banks, private finance firms and micro finance companies on Tuesday, those who represented the banks informed the Collector that they had never pressurised the loaners to repay their borrowings after the pandemic-induced lockdown came into force.
As the representatives of the private finance firms and the micro finance companies too claimed that they did not force the borrowers to settle the loan as per the schedule, the Collector, who was not ready to buy their explanation, told them in clear terms that the life of the borrowers, mostly members of SHGs, labourers, farmers, farmhands etc. had been in deep trouble after the outbreak of the pandemic.
The participants assured the Collector that they would not compel the borrowers to comply with the loan conditions and for scheduled repayment.
In Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts, the beedi rollers, who are main borrowers from the micro financing companies, were suffering a lot at the hands of these firms during the pandemic situation. Collectors V. Vishnu and G.S. Sameeran have instructed these firms not to harass the borrowers considering the adverse pandemic situation prevailing now.
