Sources said many banks were unwilling to take up the risk.
Picture for representational purpose
Thiruvananthapuram: ‘Wrina Mukthi,’ a scheme finalised by the State- Level Bankers’ Committee to extend financial support to those trapped by loan sharks remains a non-starter. No banks have yet initiated the scheme that offers assistance up to '50,000 without any collateral security in spite of SLBC instructions. An SLBC official said that the banks were in the process of implementing the scheme. It has to get the nod from the top managements and needs to be incorporated into the banks’ computer system.
Hence it may take some time to implement it. Some banks are even receiving enquiries from customers about it. A senior official of Canara Bank said that there were many practical difficulties in implementing the scheme. “How can we determine that those approaching us are genuinely facing a threat from loan sharks? Anyway, the banks are working out modalities for the scheme,” he said. An official of State Bank of Travancore also said that it had not so far received any instructions from higher-ups on it.
A meeting of SLBC attended by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, other ministers and senior bank officials, including Canara Bank chairman and managing director R.K. Dubey, had announced the scheme in the backdrop of Operation Kubera drive being carried out by the state police. It proposed financial assistance of up to 50,000 at base interest rate with repayment term of up to five years.
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