VIJAYAWADA: VIMUKTI-AP convener Meharunnisa demanded that the State government take immediate measures to revive the Money Lenders (Regulation) Act and Protection of Borrowers Act to stop money lenders from exploiting the poor and landless farmers, unorganised and daily wage workers, and sex workers.
Participating in a meeting organised jointly by VIMUKTI and HELP to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on Friday, Meharunnisa said the Borrowers Protection Act was first enacted in 1934 in Telugu land.
However, in 2018 the Andhra Pradesh Acts and Regulations (Repeal) Act repealed it and introduced Andhra Pradesh Money Lenders Bill. “But till date, it has not received Presidential assent,” she said. In the absence of such a law that controls money lenders and protects borrowers, many families are being pushed into prostitution, she observed.
VIMUKTI co-convener Pushpavati said the then government had enacted the AP Microfinance Institutions (Regulations of Money Lending) Act in 2011 as some agencies in the State were exploiting women by lending to SHGs at high-interest rates in the name of microfinancing. She urged the government to come up with new legislation to protect such groups from private money lenders.
VIMUKTI state leader Ajani appealed that the State government should support such persons by providing them loans through banks for alternative livelihood assistance. Apoorva, another VIMUKTI member, urged GPs to provide protection to the victims of trafficking in the State without detaining them for years in Shelter Homes in the name of rehabilitation.