Telangana handloom weavers apprehensive of hurdles in loan waiver scheme

Following the government’s announcement of the scheme, several weavers approached officials seeking clarity on its guidelines, but were not given any details

Hyderabad: After farmers who have been running from pillar to post to get their crop loans waived, handloom weavers may now face similar struggles, as the Telangana government is expected to impose several terms and conditions on their loan waiver scheme.

In March, the State government announced that loans taken by handloom weavers, up to a ceiling of Rs 1 lakh, would be waived. In principle, the government approved the scheme’s implementation with an outlay of Rs 33 crore. The waiver will apply to loans availed by weavers between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2024.

To implement the scheme, the government now plans to constitute both district- and State-level committees comprising officials from the Handlooms Department, banks and NABARD. The District Collector will chair the district-level committees, while the Director of Handlooms will head the State-level committee.

Although the Handlooms Department has not officially disclosed these plans, sources said instructions have already been issued to departmental officials. However, the proposal to form committees has raised concerns among weavers.

“This is just a ploy to delay and mislead the weavers. The district committees are expected to prepare lists of weavers, verify loan purposes, loan amounts and submit the details to the State-level committee, which will scrutinise and take a final decision,” CITU state secretary Kurapati Ramesh said.

Following the government’s announcement of the loan waiver, several weavers reportedly approached officials seeking clarity on the scheme’s guidelines. “We contacted officials, but they refused to provide us any details. These are nothing but tactics to delay the implementation and abandon weavers,” Ramesh, who is also the general secretary of the Telangana Powerloom Workers Union, alleged.

Typically, weavers take loans to set up looms and purchase raw materials for production. Most of these loans are sourced through Weavers’ Cooperative Societies and banks. An estimated 17,600 weavers across the State are believed to have availed loans. Now, many fear that under the pretext of strict guidelines, a large numbers of applicants will be deemed ineligible.

“When no committees were formed for the farmers’ crop loan waiver, why is the government constituting committees for the weavers’ scheme?” Ramesh asked.

With many weavers under severe financial strain and some even driven to suicide, the government should step in and offer real support to the struggling community, he demanded.