Profiting from poverty? Under the garb of narrowing the gap between rich and poor by increasing the access of poor to micro credit, majority of agencies in India have already converted themselves into full fledged financial companies. Getting funds at lower/negligible rate of interest and lending them to some affluent few who can take care of their recovery interests at higher rate of interest has become the order of the day. Let there be a social audit about the micro credit disbursal mechanism of SKS, Sahayata, Share, Ujjivan, Bandan, Sarada, Asmitha, suryodaya etc., etc., etc., including Public Sector Banks like State Bank of India and Indian Bank in two Centers located at Chintamaniswar Area of Bhubaneswar headed by affluent, hooligan, self styled women leaders named Usha Nair and Nirupama Mishra, Skeletons would tumble out of cupboard. Close to 60% of their micro credit portfolio goes into the hands of touts, locally influential and vocal women who repeatedly borrow funds from these Micro credit institutions by showing fake and fictitious women groups (in most cases the women are hired for 4 to 5 sittings for petty sums) and take advantage of the fund drawn so, by lending it in the open market at interests ranging from 60 – 84% p.a. There are instances where these women agents of our Micro finance corporations resorting all sorts of foul and unethical mechanism of recovering loans. There are reported incidents where a few petty business borrowers from these micro lending institutions have committed suicides, unable to cope up with the atrocities. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, Department of Rural Development has taken the matter seriously and set up a Help Line No. 155321 where any aggrieved borrower subjected to inhuman and unethical treatment from the Micro lending Institutions can seek intervention from the Law enforcing agencies. Unless and until thorough analysis and inquiry into the existing credit portfolio of these so called Micro lending Institutions is carried out, they should not be allowed to raise any more concessional/ public funds either through IPO or from any Public Funding Institutions. In the absence of any regulating mechanism, the micro credit has become a lucrative business for many; and over the last few years, many such institutions which do not have any presence in the market have become fat overnight. Will our big bosses from Ministry of Finance and RBI would take any initiative to introspect and analyse the situation instead of just peeping through the cooked up balance sheets and tailor made target achievements of the MFIs?
0 comments