The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Bankers told to fund MEPMA scheme

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 25, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Bankers told to fund MEPMA scheme

Staff Reporter

Programme aimed at eliminating poverty

Collector for speedy disbursal of smart cards
Action plan covering 5 municipalities prepared

Sangareddy: Medak district Collector B. Venkatesam on Saturday has asked the bankers to complete grounding of all the rural based schemes by the end of the year in time for launching the Mission for elimination of poverty in Municipal areas (MEPMA), a programme envisaged for the uplift of urban slums.

The MEPMA will be replacing the ongoing DFID aided APUSP programme which will conclude by the end of the year. The Collector who was addressing a review meeting on the Urban Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP) with the bankers at the DRDA office urged the bankers not to stress the urban slum dwellers for minimum deposit to open an account with the bank. He also wanted the financial institutions to speed up distribution of smart cards as per the directions of the Reserve Bank of India.

MEPMA district project director B. Ramachandra Rao said that an action plan for the five municipalities in the district has been prepared following a survey on the number of slums and households in the district. He said that banks in Sadasivapet have begun assisting Urban Self help groups and requested the DRDA officials to assist the banks in recovery of the loans till the MEPMA takes over the reins of the Urban IKP. DRDA project director Srinivasa Baba who would act as in charge of the programme for six more months said that ward-wise data of slum dwellers has been collected. In all there were 2,000 SHGs in the municipal areas and there is a need of establishing 2,000 more groups in all the five municipalities in the district except Patancheru and Ramachandrapuram that come under Greater Hyderabad.

However, he observed that the extent of default is more in urban self help groups compared to that of the rural groups. Banking coordinator of the programme Syed Rasool pointed out that the forecast that 50 per cent of the population would be living in urban areas by the year 2020, has encouraged the State government to form the Urban Mission.

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