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Lok Sabha
The Rural Employment Generation Programme(REGP), which is implemented by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) with loan funding from nationalized banks and margin money support from the Central Government, is functioning satisfactorily in West Bengal. The result of an evaluation study, conducted in 2003, on the REGP units in West Bengal, has revealed that 98 per cent of sample enterprises reported release of loan by the banks within three months of sanction.
The Central Government has been implementing the REGP throughout the country, including West Bengal. In order to avoid any procedural wrangles for the entrepreneurs assisted under the REGP, margin money assistance at the prescribed rates is placed in advance at the disposal of the participating public sector scheduled commercial banks which are authorized to sanction individual self-employment projects under the REGP costing upto Rs.25 lakh, without prior approval of the KVIC. The entrepreneurs can approach the nearest public sector bank branch for availing of loans under the REGP. This procedure helps ensure, as far as practicable, hassle-free disbursement of loans to the entrepreneurs.
During the financial year 2003-04, an amount of Rs. 1593.51 lakh has been released to West Bengal towards margin money assistance, against which a total loan of Rs. 3983.76 lakh is estimated to have been provided by the nationalized banks to the eligible entrepreneurs. During the financial year 2004-05, an amount of Rs. 1492 lakh has been allocated to the State towards margin money assitance to help, in turn, sanction of about Rs. 3730 lakh as loans from the nationalized banks. The District-wise distribution of margin money in the West Bengal for the year 2004-05 is given below:-
Sl.No.
District
Margin money allocated for the year 2004-05 (Rs. Lakh)
1.
Bankura
72.00
2.
Birbhum
93.00
3.
Burdwan
90.00
4.
Cooch Behar
70.00
5.
Darjeeling
53.00
6.
Hooghly
60.00
7.
Howrah
75.00
8.
Jalpaiguri
85.00
9.
Malda
110.00
10.
Midnapur(East)
91.00
11.
Midnapur(West)
85.00
12.
Murshidabad
95.00
13.
Nadia
90.00
14.
Purulia
80.00
15.
Dinajpur(North)
94.00
16.
Dinajpur(South)
64.00
17.
24 Parghanas(North)
93.00
18.
24 Parghanas(South)
92.00
TOTAL
1492.00
This information was given by Shri Mahabir Prasad, Minister of Small Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
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