HYDERABAD: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu has said bankers need not worry about HYDRAA as the agency will not give building permissions.
Speaking at the special bankers’ conference at Praja Bhavan on Wednesday, Bhatti Vikramarka said that GHMC, Town Planning and other government departments alone would examine all parameters and give approvals for the constructions of buildings and any government will continue them. He clarified that HYDRAA would deal with security, traffic regulation, prevention of encroachment of parks and lakes.
He welcomed the convening of special meeting with an objective to extend support to certain government departments through the banking sector. The tradition should be continued in future too, he said and appreciated the bankers, Special CS Finance Ramakrishna Rao for taking the initiative in organising the meeting.
Some were of the notion that free bus travel for women was to merely enable women travel freely but it was not so, Vikramarka said and added that the Mahalakshmi scheme helps women to live with dignity. “The objective behind free bus travel is to give financial support to women,” he said.
Vikramarka said that the state Cabinet has decided to extend Rs 20,000 crore interest free loans to SHGs this year and if possible government would extend more loans.
Stating that the corporate banks were charging 9 to 13 per cent interest, Bhatti said bankers should work with social responsibility. The rules for extending loans should be simplified, he suggested.
The bankers must extend more loans to women SHGs as the loan recovery rate from SHGs was more than 98%. He said that the government was considering buying buses and giving them on lease to increase income of SHGs. The government is also taking up many programmes to increase the income of SHGs, Bhatti said.
MSME parks
The deputy CM announced that micro, small and medium scale industrial parks were being set up in every constituency and women would be given special allotments in these parks.
Even as the members of SHGs were achieving a turnover of Rs 12,000 crores, the societies in tribal areas were unable to repay loans to the tune of Rs 200 crore, he said and suggested that the bankers consider giving them one-time settlement opportunity.