Central grants for state SCs, STs

GUWAHATI, August 4: The National Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) has released a net amount of Rs 978.87 lakh to the Assam Plain Tribes Development Corporation Ltd till the end of June, 2000 providing an opportunity for the tribals to better their lives. About Rs 339 lakh has been made available to the Assam state Development Corporation for SCs Ltd till the end of May for similar development efforts for the Scheduled Castes. Sources in the NSFDC, an organisation under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, told The Assam Tribune here that for the current financial year an allocation of Rs 322.17 lakh has been made for the APTDC while another Rs 186.34 lakh has been earmarked for the ASCDC for the normal developmental schemes. The NSFDC finances income-generating schemes for the SCs/STs at concessional rate of interest through the state SCs and STs development corporations, which are its channelling agencies. The income-generating schemes are meant for families belonging to those sections of the society whose annual income is below Rs 31,952 pa in rural areas and Rs 42,412 pa in the urban areas. To finance the poorest of the poor among the target group, the NSFDC has also launched a micro-credit finance programme through the state channelling agencies and the non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Rs 35.86 lakh has been sanctioned to the APTDC during 2000-01 for this purpose while Rs 20.7 lakh has been sanctioned for the ASCDC for the same period. Of the various programmes financed by NSFDC for self-employment, term loan assistance is provided for projects or units costing up to Rs 30 lakh. The quantum of the NSFDC's term loan assistance may be up to 90 per cent of the project cost, the sources said. Interest rate may be seven per cent for loans up to Rs 5 lakh and 9 per cent for loans above this, the sources added. The NSFDC also provides grants for skill development programmes through its channelling agencies. Up to 85 per cent of recurring expenditure towards the training programmes is extended as grant, the sources said. Asked about allegations from some quarters that the state government has not provided the counter guarantee required for availing NSFDC loans, sources pointed out that the state government's counter-guarantee for APTDC was approved in 1999. However, the counter guarantee for the ASCDC is yet to be executed even though it has also been approved. As far as the APTDC is concerned the state government has made a Rs 4 crore guarantee available to the NSFDC, the sources added.