Waived ~52cr debt of SCs, BCs, says minister

CHANDIGARH : Punjab scheduled castes, backward classes and minority welfare minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot announced on Wednesday that the state government has waived Rs 52-crore debt of 15,890 loanees belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes. Of these, 14,260 people belong to SC community and the remaining 1,630 are from backward classes.

Dharamsot said these debt-ridden people, who had taken loans from Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation (PSCFC) and Punjab Backward Classes Land Development and Finance Corporation (BackFinco), would get a waiver of up to Rs 50,000.

“The beneficiaries include defaulters and those who are paying the instalments,” said the minister while addressing a press conference. PSCFC and BackFinco provide loans for shops, general stores and repairs, besides setting up ventures such as carpentry.

Dharamsot said the government would also give debt waiver of Rs 125 crore to poor people on April 14, the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar, during a state-level function at Jalandhar.

He said the state government opted for debt waiver because 90% of the people who availed loans from the two corporations had failed to pay back. Last year, PSCFC gave loans of Rs 5.61 crore to 317 applicants belong to SC community whereas 347persons belong to backward classes took loans totalling Rs 5.87 crore from BackFinco.