In Odisha, safaimitras get Rs 15-lakh loan

New Delhi: In a major move aimed at empowering Safaimitras, the Odisha government led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sanctioned loans to purchase equipment like jetting machines, cesspool vehicles and other related tools, including PPE kits for cleaning sewer lines and septic pits/tanks.

The first lot of a loan of Rs 15 lakh of which Rs 6 lakh is the subsidy amount was sanctioned by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Singh to Chanda Naik and Bandhan Naik, who are the residents of Tapaban Basti under Ward 63 in Bhubaneswar.

As per the civic officials, the Safaimitras would use the loan disbursed by Canara Bank to buy a 1,000 litre capacity cesspool vehicle to run a micro business of desludging septic tanks and pits. The loan was sanctioned by National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC), an arm of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. On the occasion, DC Sanitation Suvendhu Kumar Sahoo briefed the Commissioner that with the help of the CFAR team, the safaimitras had been enlisted across the city and loan applications for 22 more Safaimitras had also been processed.