Bank recovers loan from Dalit girl's scholarship

Raipur, May 2 (UNI) A 13-year-old Dalit girl student of a government school in Chhattisgarh has been deprived of her education scholarship as a cooperative bank ''adjusted'' the amount against the loan availed by her father.

Ms Sahodara, now a class VIII student in the Government High School at Dudhiya in Balod block of Durg district, was granted an annual scholarship of Rs 1100 by the Chhattisgarh Government in 2004 under its scheme to assist and encourage Dalit students in education.

Though the state government sent the scholarship amount to the Durg-Rajnandgaon Regional Rural Bank for dispersal, she did not get it as the bank was illegally adjusting it against the loan availed by her father Ishwar Das.

Loan recovery from the Dalit student's scholarship came to light after the teachers of the school approached the bank's Dudhiya branch, complaining that Ms Sahodara was not getting her scholarship. Bank authorities also refused to release the scholarship amount.

Subsequently, Forum for Fact Finding Documentation and Advocacy (FFDA), a non-government organisation, approached the state Human Rights Commission, which in turn issued notices to Durg District Collector, RRB Manager and the Headmaster of government high school at Dhudhiya.

In its complaint, FFDA alleged that Mr Ishwar Das, a resident of Dudhiya village, had availed a loan of Rs 12,000 from the bank in 2003, under Income Generation Programme, a scheme launched for the uplift of scheduled castes. He could not repay the loan instalments subsequently.

Realising that the student getting scholarship is daughter of Mr Ishwar Das, the NGO pointed out, the bank authorities started loan recovery from scholarship amount, which was granted by the state government specifically for educational purposes in 2004.

''After the bank diverted her scholarship to adjust it against the loan of her father, the girl is finding it difficult to continue her schooling'', says FFDA Director Subhash Mahopatra.

As the matter reached the Human Rights Commission, the bank suspended its Dhudiya branch manager Rakesh Tiwari, pending an inquiry against him.

When contacted, Durg District Collector Subrat Sahoo admitted that there was no provision for loan recovery from minors and the bank's action was illegal.

''Even for such loan recovery from adults, it is subjected to certain conditions'', he said, adding that an inquiry was being conducted into the matter.

UNI