Less than 20 per cent of the total applications made for loans under the central scheme of Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) were sanctioned by the nationalised banks in the state during the financial year of 2012-13,according to the latest official data available as on December 2012. In fact,not a single application was sanctioned in the four districts of Bharuch,Dangs,Porbandar and Valsad last financial year. The data has been compiled by the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC),which monitors and coordinates banking activities of all banks in the state. It shows that out of a total of 88,184 applications sponsored by the state government,only 16,142 applications were sanctioned by the banks. Under this housing scheme for poor,the state government sponsors a beneficiary,who can then avail of loans on subsidised interest from designated nationalised banks. The target was set at getting financial assistance for 1,36,470 beneficiaries in all 26 districts of the state during the last financial year. The SLBC has now asked the sponsoring agencies (in this case the state government) and banks for better co-ordination. The only exceptions to this poor state of affairs were Anand and Kheda districts,which exceeded their targets. In Anand,4,291 applications were sanctioned against the target of 2,689 applications. In Kheda,all the 3,317 applications were sanctioned against a target of 1,857 applications. In sharp contrast,banks in the Dangs district did not sanction a single application out of the 58 that were sponsored. The target given in the district was 4,963. The pace of sanctions against the applications sponsored is very slow in percentage terms. It works out to only 18.30 per cent, the SLBC noted in its agenda for it 136th meeting. Three leading banks (State Bank of India,Bank of Baroda,Dena Bank) in particular need to improve their rate of sanction, it stated in its agenda for the March 2013 meeting,which discussed the issue. Suresh Patel,general manager (Gujarat) of Dena Bank,which is also the convenor bank of SLBC,said,The matters deliberated in SLBC meetings were an internal matter among banks.
