Tamil Nadu govt announces new gold loan waiver scheme

Chennai, Feb 26: The Tamil Nadu government has also announced a new gold loan waiver scheme. The announcement comes just hours before the announcement of poll dates by the Election Commission.

Loans availed from cooperative societies by pledging jewels upto six sovereigns and pending loans of women members of Self Help Groups in co-op banks and societies would be waived, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced here on Friday.

Representations were made by SHG members that they were not in a position to repay loans taken from cooperative banks and societies in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Palaniswami said in the Assembly adding they requested loan waiver.

Hence, to provide succour, the pending loans of poor women members of SHGs would be waived, he said in a statement in the House.

Presently, "more than one lakh SHGs are functional and in such groups over 15 lakh women are members. A majority of women in such groups belong to poor families that are below the poverty line," he noted.

Similarly, the poor and ordinary people and agricultural labourers are facing great difficulties in repaying loans secured after pledging jewels, he said.

Such loans were taken by them from cooperative societies to tackle financial distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted.

Though the spread of the virus has declined to an extent, the economy has not recovered fully, he said.

Considering the inability of farm labourers and the poor people in repaying jewel loans, representations received from them and the views of economic experts, he said loans availed by pledging jewels, upto six soverigns would be waived.

The goal is lofty, which is to help poor people and "Amma''s government waives jewel loans up to six sovereigns availed from cooperative societies."

The move is to help the poor who borrowed after being hit by the pandemic induced economic slump and could not now clear their dues, he said.