Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said that the Maharashtra government has decided to offer personal loans up to Rs. 50,000 rupees to the prisoners in return for the earnings from the work done in the jail. The state government has launched a scheme to provide personal loans to prisoners with an aim to improve the standard of living of the families of prisoners.
Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank will give loan under the scheme 50,000 at an interest rate of 7 per cent. Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said that the scheme will be implemented on a pilot basis at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune.
This type of loan is called “Khavati” loan, and the order on the scheme was issued on Tuesday, the minister said. “There will be no need for a guarantor. It will be disbursed on personal bond. The bank will decide the amount on the basis of earning, skill, daily wages.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Home Minister Patil at Sahyadri Guest House and a Government Resolution (GR) was also issued in this regard.
Inaugurating the scheme, Patil said, “It will also be the first innovative loan scheme in the country which will provide loan based on the income earned while working in the prison. This can lead to a concrete welfare scheme and about 1,055 prisoners benefit from the scheme.” Many prisoners are serving long term imprisonment. Since most of these prisoners are prominent family members, their families may suffer.”
“A feeling in the family that the person who has gone to jail has failed in his family duties. In such a situation, providing a prisoner with a loan for the needs of his family will increase the sympathy of the family and love for the prisoner. and Help maintain a healthy family environment,” the minister said.
The credit facility under the scheme will be decided on the basis of credit limit of the prisoner, period of sentence, expected relief, age, estimated annual working days and minimum daily income. The loan will not require a guarantor.
The lending bank will be solely responsible for ensuring that the loan amount is utilized for meeting the needs of the family concerned or for paying their lawyers’ fees or for other legal matters. Along with this, 1 percent of the amount recovered from loan repayment by the bank will be given to the Prisoners Welfare Fund every year.
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