HYDERABAD: To provide relief to distressed weavers, the state government has decided to waive their loans up to Rs1 lakh. Making a statement on this in the state legislative Assembly on Thursday, industries minister KT Rama Rao said the scheme would be implemented with retrospective effect from Jan 2014.
The loans taken by handloom weavers from nationalised banks and District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCBs) as working capital for production of handloom products from Jan 2014 to March 2017 up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh were considered for the waiver, Rama Rao said.
“As per the information furnished by State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), 2,467 handloom weavers would be freed from debt through the loan waiver scheme and, for effecting this, the government has to spend `10.10 crore. Out of 2,467 handloom weavers, 205 repaid the loans and they will also get the benefit under the loan waiver scheme,” Rama Rao said.
Government officials at the ground level will get an undertaking from bankers that they shall extend fresh loans to the extent of re-payment made to each handloom weaver, whose loans were waived for continuing the further handloom weaving activity. “Till now, outstanding loans of 1,018 powerloom weavers till March 2015 were considered for loan waiver and the government spent `5.65 crore on the same. Thus, in all, the state government has come forward to spend `15.75 crore on waiving the bank loans taken by 3,485 weavers in both handloom and powerloom sectors.”Currently, the state government is providing 20 per cent subsidy on cotton yarn.