The BMC has issued a letter of recommendation (LOR) to 1.16 lakhs hawkers eligible for a Rs10,000 loan under the “Prime Minister Street Vendor Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme ” (PM SVANidhi scheme) from any nationalised bank. The amount will be disbursed by cheque at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in Mumbai.
The BMC had set up one centre each in the city’s 24 administrative wards. Around 2,301 camps were organised to reach a maximum number of street vendors. They were given complete information about how to apply online.
“We received 1.21 lakhs of applications, while LOR was given to 1.16 lakhs and more than one lakh applications were approved. It has now been decided that loans for up to two lakhs vendors will be disbursed,” said the civic official.
The scheme, launched by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2020, intends to facilitate collateral-free working capital loans to over 50 lakh street vendors to help resume their business in urban areas and semi-urban areas.
The vendors will be allowed to repay the loan in monthly instalments within a year. “The scheme is intended to help vendors who had lost their business during the pandemic. If loans are repaid within six months, the vendor will be eligible to get another Rs20,000 loan the next year which could go up to Rs50,000 if paid on time,” the official said.
The hawkers have to first enrol on the Central Government portal, have a bank account, Aadhar card and a recommendation letter from BMC. Hawkers who have been issued identity cards and also those who have been included in surveys by the civic body but not issued a licence, are also eligible. Vendors can use the loan for the purchase of vegetables, fruits, footwear, clothes, handicrafts, stationery etc.
