By Raja Chowdhury
Surat: The most favoured word coined by the Indian Government
during the Lockdown period Atmanirbhar
is nothing more than another Jumla, this time targeting the hundreds of thousands of
street vendors and workers who earn their livelihood on daily basis.
The Government with much fanfare announced Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojana to support the petty shop owners and street vendors who could avail loan
facilities for the business just on submission of an application regarding
their business affected due to Lockdown. But in reality, it turns to be farce as the
criterias set by the banks can only be fulfilled by the rich business class and
not by the street vendors.
After the first week’s Thali Bajao- Ghanti Bajao managed and
staged by the government to show respect to doctors and others people serving
us during the Lockdown we had several cases where police and the civil society
members beating up doctors, their houses vacated, stone pelting, spitting on
the doctors and hospital staff apart from others.
As the people expected some waivers from the lockdown,
suddenly the Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears on Television and urges
people to become Atmanirbhar (self Reliant) and the government will support
them, especially the small time shop
owners, roadside theli Walas and
other vendors on the roadside through Atmanirbhar Loan Yojana.
The BJP government in the states to earn brownie points and
become blue eyed boy of the Prime Minister hurriedly released posters and
started tweeting regarding the various sops by them for the poor people.
The Gujarat government too did not lag far behind. In a
series of tweets the Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and the Health Minister Kishor Kanani declared that loans will be
distributed to anybody and everybody who have suffered heavily due to lockdown
and want to start their businesses again. The loans are hazzle free and
available without any trouble. They just need to approach the banks with an
application.
But in reality, these claims by non other than the chief
minister and health minister of a state is nothing more than another Jumla.
Perhaps the latest one to be added to the hundreds of others since 2014.
Last week, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani had said that a loan of upto Rs. 1 lakh is
available for petty shop owners and is available just on submission of an
application with any bank. The loans has not to be repaid for 6 months and only
after 6 months the installments will begin with an interest rate of 2 percent
of the bank and an interest rate on the principal amount of 6 percent. In total 8 percent will need to be
deposited with the bank.
Gujarat’s Health Minister Kishor Kanani later, on tweeted in
detail that only an application is to be submitted with the bank and nothing
else is required.
Now, when the banks are being approached after some
relaxation in the lockdown, the banks are telling another story. The banks require
all formalities to be fulfilled for a loan like any other loan disbursed
through the bank. They required full scale detailing of the loan seeker
including Income Tax certificates, IT returns of atleast 2 persons you know,
your property details, details of the property you will mortgage for the loan
and details of other properties you have. So a petty juice shop owner on the
street or the next door fruit seller needs to have all these documents to take
a loan upto Rs. 1 Lakh.
And if he is a worker/carpenter/electrician etc, he is only
eligible for a loan upto Rs. 25 thousand and has to fulfil criterias like
having own residential property in the city, atleast 10 year domicile
certificate in the city among others.
Social Activist Sanjay Ezhava has send a legal notice to Gujarat
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Health Minister Kishore Kanani asking them how
can they misinform the public being in such a position. The promises made
through the posters and tweets have been broken by the Government and why not a
case be registered against them. A reply has been sought in 7 days.
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