Khammam: Self-help groups in Raghunathpalem mandal have lost out on subsidy loans worth Rs 1.5 crore under the Stree-Nidhi Scheme due to the misuse of funds by some grama deepikas.
About 4,000 members of thrift groups in the mandal have been denied loans under the scheme. Irregular payments on loan instalments under the Stree-Nidhi Scheme have had repercussions on thousands of thrift groups in the mandal.
The corrupt practices of some grama deepika have been exposed, and this has also affected the sanction of loans.
In 2015-16, 1166 groups received Rs 3.7 crore in all under the Stree-Nidhi scheme. In 2016-17, this total amount sanctioned was Rs 2.21 crore, which is Rs 1.5 crore less than the previous year.
In 2016, a thrift group in V. Venkatayapalem village misused funds of '40 lakh. The grama deepika did not pay loan instalments on the Stree-Nidhi loans. It was found that Rs 7 lakh was misused and a case has been filed in the Khanapuram Haveli police station.
Arrears of Rs 11 lakh are pending on the loan sanctioned to the Triveni Grama Samaikya of Koyachalaka village, and no one is willing to come forward and clear the dues. Similar lacunae have also been found in villages such as Mallepalli, Pangidi and Babojithanda.
