Telangana issues guidelines for waiver of loans upto Rs 1 lakh

Nearly 4,407 individual weavers who are running their own looms will benefit from the loan waiver programme.

Hyderabad: In a major relief to weavers, the State government on Friday issued guidelines for waiver of loans obtained by individual weavers upto Rs 1 lakh between the period of January 1, 2014, and March 31, 2017.

Nearly 4,407 individual weavers who are running their own looms will benefit from the State government’s loan waiver programme which is estimated to result in an additional burden of Rs 19.61 crore on the State exchequer.

In cases where the outstanding balance is more than Rs 1 lakh, the weavers should pay the remaining balance after application of the State government’s loan waiver scheme. Similarly, weavers who have already repaid their loans, will receive a reimbursement amount of upto Rs 1 lakh equivalent to their loan amount.

According to officials, about 4,407 handloom weavers obtained loans from 12 nationalised and District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCB) in the State towards working capital.

An outstanding balance of Rs 23.76 crore loans availed by weavers are yet to be repaid to the banks. Considering their woes, the State government announced the loan waiver scheme with an assurance to repay loans upto Rs 1 lakh.

The banks have agreed to waive the total outstanding interest on the loans availed by weavers where the State government will pay principal amount of the loan upto Rs 1 lakh. However, the beneficiary must repay the remaining principal amount to the banks.

The banks also agreed to consider applications from weavers for fresh working capital upto Rs 1 lakh. The government asked all the heads of the banks to take steps for sensitisation of their respective branch level staff regarding the scheme and ensure that weavers are not put to trouble.

Source: https://telanganatoday.com/telangana-issues-guidelines-for-waiver-of-loans-upto-rs-1-lakh