NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over “meagre loans” given to a very few beneficiaries, Delhi Minorities Commission chief Zafarul Islam Khan has summoned officials of the government lending agency DSFDC to explain the reason.
The Commission has already issued a notice to the Delhi SC/ST/OBC/Minorities and Handicapped Financial and Development Corporation (DSFDC). Subsequently, the DSFDC informed that in the 2017-18 fiscal, 18 loan applications were received, out of which 16 were approved, one rejected and another is under consideration.
“The beneficiaries included 14 Muslims and two Sikhs who got loans totalling Rs 15.5 lakh,” said Khan. According to the 2011 Census report, minorities constitute roughly 20 per cent of Delhi’s population. Muslims alone comprised nearly 13 per cent of the total population of the city.
“It is clear that these meagre loans to such a small number mean nothing looking at the population of the minority communities in Delhi. This raises questions about the need and justification for such a corporation in NCT of Delhi,” Khan said, adding that the corporation’s officials were called for a meeting to understand its problems and assess its work.
The DSFDC offers loans under composite scheme, transport loan, Delhi Swarojgar Yojna among others to the targeted groups. In March, the National Commission for Minorities had raised the issue of minorities not getting adequate loans. It had received complaints, alleging that minorities were not getting loans from banks, both public and private, due to their identity.