A Dalit Munni is all praise for National lok Adalat to be held on November 23. About seven years back this Dalit took a petty loan from ADB SBI in Daltonganj’s Jail Hata. In 2013, the dalit’s outstanding loan became Rs 5,074. loans grow day and night and 24x7.
The dalit approached Palamu legal services authority secretary KK Jha and narrated her woes. A compromise was reached and now Munni is to pay only Rs 1,400 and then this dalit will be free of all bank’s obligations.
Dukhan Singh is another poor loanee equally worried to pay an outstanding loan worth Rs 1,642 to the ADB SBI. He has no wherewithal to pay the loan. The banker threatens him off and on. In a pre-litigation compromise Dukhan is now to pay Rs 500, confirmed Jha.
Keshwar is another dalit. His loan amount is Rs 4,066. He is so poor that he cannot pay this loan money as for this he will have to starve for days to save money bit by bit every month. The coming lok Adalat bailed him out when his loan was reduced to Rs 1,110 only.
The secretary said the lok Adalat is open to all and makes no distinction between the rich and the poor borrower but the lok Adalat cannot afford to ignore or overlook the poor who suffer because of their poverty while the rich borrower in many instances it has been found interprets huge loans in their own way and default payment and feel no sorry while the poor borrower lives in pain and shame of loan against him..
A loanee Puneet Singh’s happiness knows no bound now. He had an outstanding loan to the tune of Rs 2,722 with the ADB SBI. His case was compromised with and now Puneet Singh is to pay just Rs 410.
Jha said, “There are still many people who are not coming forward to take advantage of the National lok Adalat and Pre-litigation Compromise and they should make hurry now.”
The poor loanee gets crushed in a vicious circle said sources. The poor loanees do pay back the loans but some residual amount is left and that grows and grows up with the interest accruing to it. These are the unpaid residuals of the loans taken up by these poor loanees years back.