Loan to minorities; civil society sees foul play, demand fresh scrutiny

Hyderabad: Civil society groups have raised questions over the method adopted for processing applications of bank-linked subsidy scheme of Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation (TSMFC) and have demanded fresh scrutiny of 1.8 lakh applications (2015-16). The groups alleged that the guidelines provided under G O MS 101 (Social Welfare Department) for selecting the beneficiaries were not followed by the authorities while processing the applications and the applicants lobbied through bankers.

It must be noted that the state government is extending loans for ‘self-employment’ of the weaker sections amongst the Minorities. The guidelines obligate welfare departments to conduct beneficiary identification camps at Mandal level and also at district level to prevent irregularities.

As reported by the Hans India, the applications of the candidates who were able to get endorsement from the banks were given the priority, while other applications were kept in waiting list. S Q Masood, Joint Secretary, Association for Socio-Economic Empowerment of the Marginalised (ASEEM) alleged that the selection of beneficiaries was done randomly without organising camps.