Date:30/09/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/09/30/stories/2004093002631900.htm

Back AP Govt mulls merger of DWCRA and Velugu

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , Sept. 29

THE State Government is considering the amalgamation of DWCRA (Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas) and Velugu (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty - SERP) to strengthen self-help groups (SHGs).

Announcing this here on Wednesday, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said the Government was likely to name the combined entity after the late Prime Minister, Ms Indira Gandhi.

Dr Reddy was addressing a State-level workshop on `Managing Scale' for SHGs. He said high rate of interests in villages had been ruining the rural economy.

People in villages took loans at high rates to do small-time businesses. "If this is the case, how can they come out of poverty," he said. "There will be no development in villages unless this system goes," Dr Reddy said.

Reiterating the Government's commitment on lending at three per cent interest rates to DWCRA groups, the Chief Minister said the Government would pay the balance to the banks. He asked DWCRA members to have financial discipline and focus on repaying the loans. "Banks always look for good recovery rates. Repay your loans to induce banks to lend more," he said.

The Chief Minister said the Government would soon release revolving funds to those groups (about 20 per cent of the total groups) that had not yet received their share.

Dr Reddy called upon officials and SHGs to set higher targets for the groups. "Targets should be ten times over," he said.

The two-day workshop called for a clear policy on the `25 paise interest rate' and convergence of stakeholders with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Banks were asked to increase financial aid and ensure a hassle-free procedure for opening accounts and sanctioning loans.