BENGALURU:Differently-abled people in the state have been unable to get loans from National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) for a little more than a year now.
The corporation was hit when 664 people had taken loans in the past but did not pay back. As a result, the corporation stopped giving out loans and insisted that the state government give a bank guarantee for those taking loans, something that the government is unwilling to do without a proper screening mechanism in place.
While announcing the budget, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy gave a grant of `4 crore to waive off the loans the previous defaulters had taken. The Department for Empowerment of Differently-abled and Senior Citizens has now approached the government to put in place a mechanism by which the applicants can be screened before the loan is recommended to the NHFDC.
Earlier, several differently-abled individuals had availed loans between `50,000 and `5 lakh for education, self-employment and purchase of vehicles. Dr Siddaraju, Director, Department for Empowerment of Differently-abled and Senior Citizens, told The New Indian Express, “We are discussing this with NHFDC. They say that unless the government provides guarantee, it will not avail any further loans. NHFDC asks for recovery rate before giving further loans and that rate is zero in our state. We need recovery officers. We have sent a proposal to the government that through the Registrar of Cooperative Banks, loans should be disbursed. Also, CEOs of zilla panchayats should head committees to select beneficiaries so that they have their own mechanism of recovering loans.”
In the meantime, there is another government scheme called Aadhaar Aayojane under which loans up to `1 lakh are being made available by way of 50 per cent subsidy and 50 per cent bank loan.For a recovery system to be set up, the registrar of cooperative societies and the finance department have to give their consent.
G N Nagaraj, president of Karnataka State Disabled and Caregivers Federation, said, “There should be a market for the products that the disabled make, be it candles or baskets. We suggest there should be market insurance for unsold products. We should see loans as an investment or a part of the solution than as the solution itself for their empowerment.