Odisha Bypoll: BJP Deceiving Women SHGs of Padampur, Claims BJD

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of Padampur Assembly bypoll in Odisha, the ruling BJD on Thursday stepped up its attack on opposition BJP accusing it of trying to mislead and deceive the women Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the state.

Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, BJD spokesperon and MP Sasmit Patra alleged that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan gave misleading information about interest on loans for women SHGs while speaking at an election rally in Padampur on Wednesday.

He said Dharmendra had satated that while interest rate is 11% at Central government’s Bank; under Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission, there is an interest subvention of 7% by the Centre and only 4% is given by the state and state is taking credit.

Quoting Reserve Bank of India’s Master Circular on Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) of July 20, 2022, Patra said for loans up to Rs 3  lakh for women SHGs the interest rate will be 7%. It is clearly mentioned that for loans above Rs 3 lakh and up to Rs 5 lakh, the interest rate would be 10%, he said.

As RBI has stated that for loans up to Rs 3 lakh, interest rate is 7% and for loans from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, interest rate is 10%, the Union Minister was misleading the women SHGs of Odisha, particularly of Padampur.

The BJD leader said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is taking the entire interest rate burden up to 10% for the women SHGs and through interest subvention is making it 0% for the beneficiaries.

While the state government is making it 0% and paying the entire interest amount to the bank accounts of the women SHGs, the Central government is keeping it at a fixed rate of 7% for upto Rs 3 lakh and 10% for above Rs 3 lakh up to Rs 5 lakhs. “This is the difference between Odisha Government and Centre,” Patra said.

He claimed that the women SHGs of Padampur and Bargarh were paying more interest than others because the Centre kept them in Category-2 districts instead of Category-1.

But, the Chief Minister did not allow them to suffer and took up the entire burden of interest and made it zero per cent, the MP said.

In this manner, the state government has paid nearly Rs 500 crore so far to 4 lakh women SHG accounts. In the last three years, in Bargarh alone Rs 11.19 crores has been paid by Odisha government to SHG accounts.  In Padampur, Rs 3.05 crores has been paid as interest subvention from the Odisha government in last three years, the BJD leader claimed.