SERP staff conducting awareness meetings for SHG members about financial discipline for the success of their groups.
Kothagudem: With the State government laying emphasis on promoting livelihood of rural poor women, the DRDA authorities are aiming to achieve the target set for providing loans to SHGs in the Kothagudem district. There are around 14, 819 women self help groups (SHGs) functioning in 22 mandals in the district with above two lakh members. By the first week of March Rs 459.59 crore bank linkage loans have been extended to 8132 SHGs as against the target of Rs 620 crore set for the year 2022-23.
The District Rural Development Officer G Madhusudhan Raju informed that 74.01 percent of the total loan amount was disbursed to 54.8 percent groups. 99.32 percent of the target amount has been disbursed to 641 SHGs Burgampad mandal which has the highest number of 1,121 women groups. In terms of coverage of the groups, Karakagudem topped the district as 83.06 percent groups received loans worth Rs 12.56 crore while 454 groups in Aswaraopet received the highest loan amount of 57.35 crore so far, he said.
Madhusudhan Raju told Telangana Today that the banks are directed to disburse loans based on the groups’ financial transactions, business and repayment of loans without any deviations. Steps are being made to achieve the target of 100 percent loan distribution by the end of March. The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) staff is working in association with the banks in collecting details of SHGs that received the lowest loan amount and to reach the target, the official said.
Under Stree Nidhi programme it is aimed to extend Rs 138 crore worth loans and so far loans worth Rs 102 crore extended. Bhadrachalam, Sujatha Nagar, Laxmidevipalli, Paloncha and Allapalli mandals have received the highest amount of loans, the DRDO said. As part of the SERP’s multidimensional poverty alleviation strategy awareness programmes are being conducted to educate women on the importance of financial discipline, proper utilisation of loans and repaying them in time, Madhusudhan Raju said.