Srikakulam district administration has stepped up pressure on the banks to release loans to the beneficiaries of various schemes of the State government.
It was observed that the banks had not processed many applications in spite of their clearance in the respective departments such as the BC Welfare Corporation, the Kapu Welfare Corporation and the SC Welfare Corporation.
The beneficiaries are doing the rounds of the banks to get the loans. According to sources, the banks are adopting stringent norms as previous beneficiaries failed to clear their monthly instalments.
With many accounts becoming non-performing assets (NPAs), the bank officials are hesitating to release new loans.
The issue was brought to the notice of Collector K. Dhanunjaya Reddy who in turn suggested to Lead Bank Manager P. Venkateswara Rao to ensure immediate help from banks to the beneficiaries. He also suggested that the departments concerned should cooperate with the banks by directing the beneficiaries to pay their instalments promptly so that they would get new loans easily.
Units sanctioned
The Srikakulam BC Corporation sanctioned 2,175 units which needed financial assistance of ₹19.5 crore.
The Kapu Corporation received 933 applications to start self-employment schemes in various places. In association with banks, it could release ₹6.65 crore as against ₹10 crore sought. The SC Corporation finalised 629 applications out of 1,072.
Technical assistance
Mr. Venkateswara Rao said that banks would extend the maximum help to ground the sanctioned units in different places of 38 mandals. “Many unemployed persons are being benefited by the soft loans given by the banks. We are trying to educate them on the benefits of prompt repayment. Many banks are also providing technical assistance to the beneficiaries in making their units viable,” he added.
