GUWAHATI: Assam cabinet minister Ashok Singhal on Friday said the state government will not consider all women borrowers for waiving off their outstanding loans taken from microfinance institutions but only those who fall within a set of eligibility criteria.
“It will not be a blanket waiver, but there will be certain conditions to be eligible for the waiver,” Singhal said.
He added that only those who have availed loans from microfinance institutions till December 31, 2020 will be considered for the state government’s loan-waiver scheme.
Income-tax payers or those having multiple loans or having a four-wheeler or whose annual income is more than Rs 1 lakh will not be eligible for this relief.
Over 26 lakh women of the state, particularly in rural areas, have availed loans for various purposes from several microfinance institutions and have often complained of harassment by agents in the name of recovery of the loans.
In the last assembly election, BJP, with an eye on women voters, had promised to facilitate waiving off the loans.
In his first cabinet meeting, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had set up a committee with Singhal as the head to prepare the roadmap for implementation of this poll promise.