Demand to rein in usurious private financers in States

Hyderabad: Speakers at a conference on private money lenders here on Tuesday urged the State government to take action against illegal financers.

A conference on 'Excesses of interest-based money lenders in Telugu States' was jointly held by the Indian Nationalist Movement and Elders Club International Foundation.

Chairman of the Consumers' Affairs Committee of the Central Government M Krishna Reddy said scores of people were directly or indirectly becoming victims of private financers due to absence of strong laws and failure of the governments to strictly implement laws. Reddy said most of the victims were committing suicide. Farmers were facing a lot of problems in rural areas from money lenders. These money lenders were carrying out their illegal businesses without taking permission from governments. They were harassing the victims after giving loans at high interest. Different States should crack the whip on money lenders, like the Tamil Nadu government. He urged the governments to set up apna banks as established in Bangladesh.

Elders Club Foundation vice-chairman Dr. Avulappa said there was a need to set up an arbitration committee to provide moral and emotional support to victims of private financers and to mediate between parties. He said the foundation would make efforts to take the victims' problems to the notice of the State governments and work hard for their solution.