Delhi vendors who applied under PM scheme waiting for loans to clear

Ever since the lockdown, the vendor market has been hit by lack of tourism. “It is difficult for us to even manage our household expenses. Very few customers are buying anything,” Manju said.

Kanchan Devi (45), president of the Sarojini Nagar vendor market, said, “It has been around a month since many of us applied. None of us have received the loan.”

Om Dutt (55), a vendor from Sarojini Nagar market, told The Indian Express, “I submitted my application in August but I have not received any money so far. I am still using money I earned before the lockdown. It has been months. Thankfully, Metro services have resumed, so more people are coming to the market.”

Abhay Jain, director of the enforcement department of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), told The Indian Express, “The urban local bodies are only involved in the process of issuance of letters of recommendations as many vendors do not have a legitimate vending ID or receipts. We have processed all these LORs, and it is the lending institutions which are to disburse the loans.”

Sanjay Kumar, joint secretary at the ministry of housing and urban affairs, said, “Delhi needs to pick up. In some states, performance is exceptionally good. For example, MP is commemorating disbursement of 1 lakh loans.”

As of Monday, the North, South and East MCDs have received 1,743, 2,719 and 1,212 loan applications, of which 208, 187 and 64 respectively have been sanctioned. The New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment Board have received 453 and 125 loan applications, of which 35 and 7 respectively have been sanctioned.

Madhya Pradesh tops the list of best performing states, where 1,06,668 of 2,67,847 applications have been sanctioned. Indore tops the city rankings with 17,088 applications, of which 8,310 have been sanctioned. Delhi does not appear in top-25 city or state rankings.