Banking on a cash course

Employees are not only getting hassle-free loans from the credit cooperative society that the teaching and non-teaching staff floated,they are also finding it easier to repay.

The college has tied up with Mumbai Cooperative Bank,which has sanctioned a corpus of Rs 1 crore it can draw from. In addition,the employees chip in with Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 per month to keep the fund living and healthy. Members of the non-teaching staff contribute Rs 500 per month.

As of now,there are 104 contributors to the fund.

This has been of immense help to peons,lift operators,watchmen and clerks who earn only a few thousand rupees every month. They would find it tough getting a long-term loan of lakhs of rupees from nationalised banks and often end up playing into the hands of loan sharks.

“The income of such employees is limited but they need money for expenses such as children’s weddings,education and medical bills and repair of houses. Banks often baulk at giving loans to class-IV employees as they are not sure of their repayment capacity. So,they turn to moneylenders who charge them nearly 120 per cent interest,” said Ganesh Pawar,head of the biochemistry department and vice-chairman of the credit society.

Repaying loans to private moneylenders is a big hassle and the employees feel the pinch. This in turn reflects on their life and work and they often become prone to addiction and depression,he said.

A couple of years ago,a few members of National Assessment and Accreditation Council,during one of their inspections,suggested the college improve the quality of life of non-teaching staff.

The idea led to the birth of the credit society about a year-and-a-half ago. It has so far granted loans to 30 employees and the amount disbursed is Rs 61 lakh. The minimum period of repayment is five years and the maximum 10,at 13 per cent interest.

One of the beneficiaries,lab attendant Rupesh Narvekar,said,“Everywhere else the interest was high. My father is retired,I had to fund my brother’s education.

“We had debts piled up and owed friends,relatives,private individuals and a local subsidy fund.

“The credit society was useful as the interest was low. I just had to show a valid reason for borrowing money and furnish proof. They screened my request and within days my loan of Rs 1.6 lakh was sanctioned.”

The credit society also grants emergency loans of up to Rs 18,000 within 48 hours.

Senior employees who have a few years of service left are given the loans in lieu of an undertaking that the money would be repaid within the stipulated time from their provident fund if the loan is still left after retirement. Another crucial undertaking borrowers sign is that in no way will they turn to moneylenders to repay a loan from the credit society,or any other debt. In fact,it is often the other way round.

“Many employees borrow from the credit society to repay loan sharks,” Pawar said.