Uttarakhand: Government swung into action after thousands of loan applications for self-employment schemes were cancelled, asked for bank-wise list

The state government has swung into action due to the cancellation of thousands of applications for loan schemes related to self-employment and livelihood of the central and state governments. The government has asked for a bank-wise list of applications which have been returned as the target has not been met. This issue was also prominently discussed in the meeting of the State Level Bankers’ Committee. In the meeting, a sub-committee was formed under the chairmanship of Secretary Finance. In the meeting of the sub-committee held recently, a consensus was reached on some points regarding the cancellation and return of loan applications. According to Finance Secretary Dilip Jawalkar, the minutes of the agreement made in the meeting have been issued.

Clear reason for cancellation of application
Secretary Finance said that the reasons for rejection of loan applications should be clear. Along with this, after examining the applications received for the loan schemes, the applications of the eligible applicants should be sent to the banks. It was also suggested to review the loan applications before the district level selection committee before returning them.

If the account is in Dehradun then the loan should be approved
Loan applications of applicants who do not fall within the service area of the bank were also rejected. This issue figured prominently in the meeting of the sub-committee. It was said that an applicant who lives in Dehradun and has his account here and wants a loan to do business in Chamoli, should not be denied the loan. Banks should take a positive view on such applications and sanction the loan proposal. Additional Secretary Tourism requested all the banks to take action in this regard.

Will have to tell due to which documents the applications were canceled
Banks cited non-submission of documents by the applicants as the main reason for rejection of applications. It was said in the meeting that the banks should clarify the reasons for which the applications are being rejected. The reason should be clear. The list of these documents to be given to the banks should first be made available to the District Level Selection Committee.

Deadline for loan applications to be fixed
It was said in the meeting that there should be a time limit for the applications which are rejected by the banks. Banks should have full term around time (TAT) of the loan sanctioning process.

Those who are not interested in loans should be denied
The meeting discussed about the applications which were rejected because the applicants were not willing to avail the loan. In such a case, Secretary Finance was of the opinion that such applicants who refused to take loans should be debarred from applying for loans for one or two years from government-sponsored grant-in-aid schemes. A report was sought from the Tourism and Industries Department in this regard.