DIMAPUR, JUNE 4 (MExN): Beneficiaries of the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) from Phek district today issued a stating revealing that they have been treated unfairly in terms of sanctions allotted to them under the scheme.
Describing their journey with the scheme since 2018, a statement from Sekuho Tetseo on behalf of the beneficiaries, stated that none of the sanctions to each beneficiary reached Rs 3 lakhs. Stating that the sanctions in other states have been much higher, it claimed that this trend has been going on in Phek “for a few years now.”
It informed that the beneficiaries had resorted to conducting a sit in protest at the SBI Regional Business Officials Dimapur, but the matter was not taken seriously and dismissed. They also met the AGM & CM of the SBI for enhancement of the sanctions but to no avail, it added.
The reasons given to them, according to the statement, included claims that none of the beneficiaries from the district had repaid their loans in the past; that doing business worth Rs 10 lakhs or more was not viable in Phek district; and that a guarantor was required.
To these points, the statement informed that the beneficiaries had sought to verify the claim of large scale load defaults from Phek district. “We learned that there are beneficiaries running businesses and repaying the loans, contrary to what the RBO officials stated,” it claimed.
With regard to the viability question, the statement questioned how the concerned officials came to this conclusion about business prospects in Phek district.
Finally, regarding the requirement for guarantors, the beneficiaries questioned whether the same yardstick was used for other districts as well.
It meanwhile also urged the government and the banks to follow the “popular system” of directly transferring the money to the beneficiaries’ accounts instead of depositing it in third party accounts.
The statement however expressed hope that “we will not be victimized and that our democratic rights will not be snatched away from us as bonafide citizens of India.”
It therefore asked the Regional Branch Office of the SBI to enhance the amounts for the beneficiaries of Phek district without any further delay or excuses.
