The housing activity under various schemes is going on in East Godavari to cater to the needs of economically weaker sections at various places in the district. As part of it the district lead bank the Andhra Bank financed housing scheme under Rajiv Gruhakalpa at dairy farm centre in Samba-murty Nagar area in the Kakinada city limits.
In total 1,524 houses were constructed. The bank extended credit of 45,000 to each of the beneficiary under this scheme and named the housing as B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya the founder of the bank in the year 2007 because of its magnitude and taking it as a prestigious project.
After five years, in 2012, the advancing to the project did not bring in the expected returns in the form of repayments. The bank was left with Rs.8.79 crore outstanding with increased NPA. Even the interest subsidy offered by the government did not improve the repayments by the beneficiaries.
Under this backdrop, the GO number 185 issued by AP government has come in as blessing in disguise for the bankers. The GO empowers the team to check the credentials of the occupants and if the repayments are not forthcoming in a specific period the house can be allotted to the next in the list of beneficiaries cancelling to the present occupant.
A team of revenue officials headed by the Kakinada RDO, Dr G.C. Kishore Kumar, the project director, housing, Mr Satyanarayana, the municipal commissioner, Mr V. Ravi Kumar, along with bank’s officials visited the housing colony on 31 January.
To their dismay they found some of these houses locked and some more occupied by other than beneficiaries.
When contacted the RDO, Dr Kumar, said on Wednesday that the team stressed the need for repayments to beneficiaries as the scheme is meant for economically weaker sections.
The Andhra Bank Kakinada main branch (which financed the project), chief manager, Mr Subba Rao, said that in the last eight days they could collect Rs.4 lakh from 425 beneficiaries out of 1,524.
Mr Rao thanked the RDO for taking special interest in the collection of dues. “We are hoping for improvement in the recoveries,” Mr Rao added.
