(28)
Shoe-Making.- It is an old traditional industry. The partition of the country in 1947 adversely affected it as the
Muslim artisans migrated to Pakistan.
Their place was, however, taken up by refugee artisans from
Pakistan. The shoe-makers in rural
areas generally produce shoes for local needs.
To encourage the industry, the co-operative Department has set up
shoe-making co-operative societies at some places. Besides, training centres are functioning at various places for
imparting training to artisans. A Rural Industrial Centre for Leather Goods is
functioning at Dhariwal.
In
1971-72, 1,535 units were manufacturing leather goods including shoes in the
district. These employed 1,778 persons
and produced goods worth Rs 7,36,100.
(29)
Carpentry and Blacksmithy. – These are also traditional industries carried
on in the rural areas. Blacksmith acts
as useful link in the rural economy like the carpenter. He undertakes repairs of agricultural
implements besides doing household jobs.
The goods produced by such artisans are khurpas, sickles,
wooden ploughs, etc. The payment of
wages in some cases is made in kind during the crop seasons.
(30)
Flaying/Leather Tanning. – This traditional industry, though
important and beneficial for the country, was neglected by the people and very
useful national resources had been allowed to be wasted by using old
methods. The industry is carried on by
the Chamar (Scheduled Caste) community.
In 1971-72, 154 units were engaged in it in the district. These employed 399 persons and produced
goods worth Rs 99,050.
(31) Ban and Rope Making. - Ban
and rope making is also one of the traditional industries carried on by the
villagers on primitive basis. The
products are manufactured from sunn-hemp, munj and kai, which are
mostly available near the bet areas of the rivers Beas and Ravi. The village folk have mostly been doing the
job on part-time basis by hand process.
It was during the First Five-Year Plan (1951-56) when ban and
rope manufacturing machines (both operated by hand an power) were introduced
and the Industries Department as well as the Punjab Khadi and Village Board
extended financial help with a view to unlifting the artisans engaged in the
line. The State Co-operative Department
has also helped the industry by organising co-operative societies at some
places in the district.
In
1971-72, 510 units were engaged in the industry which employed 625 persons and
produced goods worth Rs 3,50,000.
(32) Rice Husking, Flour Milling and Oil
Extracting. – These industries received a serious set-back at the time of
partition of the country in 1947 when Muslim artisans, known as telis,
etc. migrated to Pakistan. The
waterlogging, which adversely affected the production of oil seeds, caused
further set-back to the oil industry.
However, the All India Khadi and Village Industries Board is taking keen
interest in the revival of the industry by setting up oil industrial
co-operative societies at various places in the district, by imparting training
and by providing financial
facilities. Besides, modern type
machinery (Wardha type kohlus ) is distributed in villages and
facilities are provided for construction of sheds and godowns. In 1971-72, 45 units were engaged in the
village oil industry in the district.
These employed 90 persons and their production was worth Rs 1,15,000.
Originally,
flour milling was done on hand-driven domestic chakkies, bullock-driven kharases
and water operated gharats, but,
with the advent of diesel engine and electric power, composite units for flour
milling, rice husking, cotton ginning, cotton carding, etc. came into
existence.
Due
to waterlogging in the district, paddy is grown in abudance, with the result
tha t about 17 rice shellers, each with a capacity of 1 to 4 metric tonnes per
day of eight hours, are functioning at Pathankot, Dinanagar, Gurdaspur, Batala,
Dhariwal and Dera Baba Nanak.
For
the facility of rice shellers, run with the aid of electric power, at various
places of the district, some units in the engineering industry have taken up
the manufacture of rubber rolled rice huskers and paddy driers which have
attracted orders from the rice shellers of other places too.
(33)
Baskets, Chicks and Straw Bottle Covers Making. – These are
also traditional industries, carried on in most of the villages in the
district. Bamboo and mulberry sticks
are the main raw materials used in the manufacture of chicks and
baskets, respectively. These are
available in plenty in Tahsil Pathankot.
The
demand for articles like cycle baskets, waste paper baskets, vegetable baskets
and even articles of furniture made from bamboo is on the increase. There is, therefore, considerable scope for
further development of the industry, provided adequate financial assistance is
afforded to the manufacturers engaged in it.
Straw
covers for bottles are manufactured at Dinanagar and its surrounding villages
and in the villages near Pathankot.
These are supplied mostly to the breweries for packing purposes.
(34)
Sericulture. - Sericulture is a useful part-time occupation for the tillers
of land. This industry is mainly concentrated
in Pathankot Tahsil and the surrounding areas where mulberry trees are
available in abundance and rearing of silk seed on these trees is
facilitated. The Industries Department
has set up a sericulture organisation and a sericulture experiment laboratory
at Sujanpur. At Dinanagar, the
department has set up a big sericulture farm where mulberry trees have been
grown. Training is imparted in rearing
of silk worms and cocoons. The
Government provides cocoons to the silk rearers at subsidised is also provided
by the Government.
(35)
Gur and Khandsari Making.
– The industry exists almost in every village where sugarcane is
grown. This is a seasonal industry and
is mostly adopted by the cultivators.
With the establishment of the
Batala Co-operative Sugar Mills Ltd., Batala in 1956, restrictions were
khandsari
In
1971-72, 17 units were engaged in the production of gur and khandsari. These gave employment to 70 persons and
produced goods worth Rs 1,50,000.
(36)
Pottery. – Pottery is an important village industry. It received a serious set-back on the
partition of the country in 1947 when the Muslim artisans migrated to Pakistan
and there was low influx of refugee potters in this district. However, in course of time, the industry got
re-established.
(37)
Ivory and Inlay Goods. – Only one unit is engaged in the production of
ivory and inlay goods in the district at Qila Darshan Singh, Tahsil
Batala. In 1971-72, it gave employment
to 10 persons and produced goods worth Rs 12,380. Besides, one unit in the small-scale sector manufactures plastic
novelties and consumer goods.
(iv)
Handicrafts
No
special type of handicrafts exists in the Gurdaspur District. Phulkari and baag making was
an important handicraft in the past, but gradually, with the advancement of
mechanism, this work has almost been neglected by the village women. Hand knitting and embroidery work is,
however, still carried on. This is also
called topa work. During the
Second Five-Year Plan (1956-61), industrial training institutes were
established at various places in the district to impart training to women in
embroidery, tailoring, knitting, etc.
The dealers from Amritsar and
Ludhiana supply cloth through their middlemen and get the work done from the
village women. Remuneration being not
attractive, the industry is on the decay.
(v)
Jail Industries
The
industries carried on in the District Jail, Gurdaspur, are : carpentry, munj
and hemp, ban, cane, chick making, niwar making, basket, tat
(sack-cloth), gur, cotton-testing, book-binding, poultry, etc. The production and gross profit of these
industries is given in the section on ‘Jails and Lock-ups’ of chapter XII, ‘Law
and Order and Justice.’
(h) Industrial
Potential
As
regards the industrial potential of the district and plans for future
development, the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi,
suggested in 1961 that a new cement factory be started at Pathankot. The Council further suggested a programme
for dairy development at Batala of a composite milk plant of 750 maunds (about
28 metric tons) capacity per day at a cost of Rs 49.5 lakhs and at Gurdaspur of
creameries of 250 maunds (about 9.30 metric tons) capacity per day at a cost of
Rs 10.2 lakhs.5
(i)
Role of Industrial Co-operatives
The
earliest attempt to introduce the co-operative method for solving rural
economic problems was made in 1904 when the then British Government passed the
Co-operative Credit Societies Act. The
object of the Act was to encourage thrift, self-help and co-operation amongst
agriculturists, artisans and persons of limited means. However, in the industrial field also the
peinciple of co-operation has been accepted as a method to help small
industrialists, artisans, craftsmen, etc. in increasing their productive
capacity and financial resources.
Industrial
co-operatives are generally formed by artisans, craftsmen, industrial workers
and small industrialists. These are
limited liability concerns, the liability normally extending to the value of
the shares. During the first two
Five-Year Plans, 1951-56 and 1956-61, the industrial co-operatives made a
definite progress. Weavers co-
_______________________________________________________________
5. Techno-Economic Survey of Punjab (New
Delhi, 1962), pp. 173-174 and 220-221
operatives have been established on a firm
footing under the guidance of the All-India Handloom Board. The latter provides
the co-operatives with Government grants and loans and helps in strengthening
the marketing organisation. It further
helps the movement in building up its internal resources by increasing the
share capital.6
Most
of the funds for industrial co-operative societies are available from
co-operative banks. Credit facilities
are also given by private entrepreneurs.
The co-operative societies also get subsidies, grants-in-aid and loans
from Government for the purchase of machinery, equipment, raw materials, etc.
Considerable
attention is being paid to the introduction of improved tools and techniques
amongst industrial co-operative societies by different all-India and State
organisations. Co-operative Industrial
Estates are also being development where sites are made available to members
with common facilities like workshops, exhibition houses, industrial museums,
quality marking units, testing and finishing units, godowns, sample rooms and
similar services. Thus, the industrial
co-operative play a vital role in the development of village industries.
The
particulars regarding co-operative societies in the district, during 1970-71 to
1971-72, are given in the following table :-
6. Community Development,
Panchayati Raj and Co-operation, (Issued by the Government of India,
Ministry of Community Development and Co-operation, New Delhi, in 1964), pp.
45-47
The
industrial co-operatives in the State were under the Co-operative Departments
up to April 1963, when the Industrial Co-operative Wing was transferred to the
Industrial Department. The industrial
registrar, co-operative societies, Amritsar, is in incharge of the industrial
co-operative societies in the Gurdaspur District.
The
amount of loans and subsidies given by the Government to the industrial co-co-operative
societies in the district, during 1969-70 to 1971-72, is given below;
|
|
|
1969-70 (Rs)
|
1970-71 (Rs)
|
1971-72 (Rs)
|
|
Loans Advanced
|
..
|
3,07,027
|
3,29,024
|
3,71,346
|
|
Subsidies Given
|
..
|
3,223
|
2,947
|
2,827
|
(Source : Industrial
Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Amritsar)
The
following table shows the progress mad by the Industrial Co-operatives in the
district, during 1967-68 to 1971-72 :-
|
Particulars
|
|
Year
|
|
|
1967-68
|
1968-69
|
1969-70
|
1970-71
|
1971-72
|
|
No. of Industrial
Co-operative Societies
|
..
|
376
|
378
|
384
|
394
|
390
|
|
Membership
|
..
|
5,266
|
5,282
|
5,436
|
5,561
|
5,576
|
|
Share Capital (in Rs.)
|
..
|
11,00,315
|
11,68,043
|
13,71,382
|
14,49,322
|
15,27,365
|
|
Working Capital (in Rs)
|
..
|
40,31,374
|
42,23,009
|
46,90,027
|
45,50,957
|
48,68,882
|
|
Production (in Rs.)
|
..
|
35,31,104
|
35,44,890
|
39,91,802
|
44,85,157
|
39,47,804
|
|
Sales (in Rs.)
|
..
|
35,10,478
|
38,04,569
|
38,96,574
|
46,04,422
|
39,12,724
|
(Source
: Industrial Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Amritsar)
A
comparison of the figures given above indicates that there has been little improvement
in the working of industrial co-operatives in the district during the
period. This is mainly due to the fact
that Gurdaspur, being a border district, has suffered a great set-back during
the Indo-Pak Conflicts of 1965 and 1971.
Though the Government has initiated a number of schemes to provide
financial help to these co-operatives societies, yet these have hardly met
their requirements.
(j) Labour and Employer’s Organizations
Labour
Organizations. –For the protection of workers against oppression or
exploitation by capitalist organizations or employers with-out sentiment, the
institution of
the workers led to dissatisfaction, which,
in turn, led to the workers forming unions for the protection of their own
interests.
For
a considerable period trade unions were regarded as illegal bodies and their
members were rendered liable to punishment.
But in spite of all the hardships against the trade unionists, they
continued their efforts which ultimately led them to success and legal
recognition of trade union. The law
ultimately came to realize that r\trade unions serve a useful social and
economic purpose, in so far as they were meant for settling wages and bringing
about harmonious relations between capital and labour. The law ultimately allowed the workers to
improve conditions of their employment.
Under
the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926, a trade union is an association for the
purpose of regulating the relations between employers and employees and between
employees inter set and for imposing conditions on the conduct of any trade of
any trade or business. It includes
federation of two or more unions also.
Under the Constitution of India also, citizens of India have the
fundamental right to form associations or unions, in a legitimated manner, as
provided under Article 19 (1)(c).
Since
the independence, there has been a considerable growth of trade union movement
in the Gurdaspur District and, as a result, there has been a constant increase
in the number of registered trade unions.
The particulars of trade unions, registered under the Indian Trade
Unions Act, 1926, functioning in the district are given in the Appendix at
pages 177-78.
Manufacturers’
Associations. – These associations play an important role in the
development of industries and in looking after the interests of their
respective members. These also help in
removing other difficulties of the members and in procurement of raw
materials. A list of the manufacturers’
Associations existing in the district is given below:
1. The
Batala Factories Association, Batala
2. The
Small-Scale Industries Association, Batala
3. The
Northern India Engineering Association, Batala
4. The
Batala Utensils Manufacturing Association, Batala
5. The
Batala Industrial Estate Factories Association, Batala
6. The
Batala Soap Manufacturers’ Association, Batala
(k) Welfare of Industrial Labour
An
important feature of the introduction of industrialization in India was the
eagerness of the employers for the quick return and easy profits. Due to the employers’ desire to extract work
from the labourers for as long time as possible under conditions most
intolerable, various efforts were made to improve the conditions and organize
labour in the country and the Government also interfered by passing various
labour laws from time to time. It was,
however, after the World War I (1914-1918) that the industrial labour in India
became conscious of its strength and rights.
The influence of the International Labour Organization also rended in
the same direction. The appointment of
the Royal Commission on Labour (report submitted in 1931) and subsequently
other committees (e.g., Labour Investigation Committee whose report was
submitted in 1946) to enquire into the conditions of labour aroused a general
interest in labour during the
subsequent period. Since the
independence, the Government has shown a definite bias for social and economic
welfare of the masses and, thus, the importance of the industrial labour class
and their problems have been considerably enhanced.7 The Government has passed various labour
laws mainly with a view to making the lives of the industrial workers happier
and healthier.
Employers
have a significant role in providing welfare facilities in their work places,
over and above what is laid down by law and the work done by the public
authorities. The welfare measures have
been increased gradually partly through statutory provisions and partly through
the employers’ realisation that welfare is an important aspect of human relations
and as much beneficial to the interest of industry as to that of workers. However, most of the facilities for workers’
welfare, provided by employers such as dispensaries, canteens and creches, are
in the implementation of statutory provisions.
Special attention is paid to the preparation of nutritive food which is
made available to the workers at cheap rates.
In regard to medical facilities also, many employers have instituted a
well-planned medical-care programme, even though sickness insurance has been
introduced for industrial workers under the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme.
In
the Gurdaspur district, there are three labour welfare centres in the important
towns of Dhariwal, Pathankot and Batala, which provide training and
recreational facilities to the workers and their families. These include organisation of indoor and
outdoor games, conducting of sewing, knitting and embroidery classes and
arranging programmes like dramas, music classes, radio broadcasts, etc.
_______________________________________________________________
7. Bhagoliwal, T.N., Economics
of Labour and Social Welfare (Agra, 1966), p. 21
APPENDIX
List of Registered Trade Unions in
Gurdaspur District as on March 31 1972
|
Serial No.
|
Name of the Union
|
|
Date of Registration
|
|
1
|
Dhariwal Mills Mazdoor Union, Dhariwal
|
..
|
28-8-1949
|
|
2
|
Municipal Employees’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
7-8-1952
|
|
3
|
Trade Employees Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
17-10-1955
|
|
4
|
General Factory Workers’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
25-11-1955
|
|
5
|
Glacier Factory Workers’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
7-12-1955
|
|
6
|
Railway Licensed Porters Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
5-6-1956
|
|
7
|
Suraksha Karamchari Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
8-7-1957
|
|
8
|
All Hill Motor Transport Workers’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
10-10-1957
|
|
9
|
Gorkha Guards Union Dhariwal
|
..
|
16-10-1957
|
|
10
|
Dhariwal Karkhana Workers’ Union Dhariwal
|
..
|
24-31958
|
|
11
|
Swankar Karamchari Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
7-7-1958
|
|
12
|
Municipal Safai Karamchari Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
11-1-1960
|
|
13
|
Ara, Chaki and General labour Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
16-12-1960
|
|
14
|
Municipal Employees Union, Gurdaspur
|
..
|
28-10-1961
|
|
15
|
Bhartiya Textile Mazdoor Sangh Dhariwal
|
..
|
5-10-1963
|
|
16
|
Co-operative Sugar Mills Mazdoor Union Batala
|
..
|
3-1-1964
|
|
17
|
Conduit Pipe and Rubber Mazdoor Sangh, Dinanagar
|
..
|
14-1-1964
|
|
18
|
Press Workers’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
23-10-1964
|
|
19
|
District Fire Brigade Workers’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
4-3-1965
|
|
Serial No.
|
Name of the Union
|
|
Date of Registration
|
|
20
|
Transport Employees Ordinance Employees Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
4-3-1965
|
|
21
|
Ordinance Employees Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
14-9-1965
|
|
22
|
Cheeni Mill Workers’ Union Batala
|
..
|
25-4-1967
|
|
23
|
District Transport Workers’ Ordinance Employees Union,
Batala
|
..
|
25-4-1967
|
|
24
|
District Engineering Workers’ Union Batala
|
..
|
25-4-1967
|
|
25
|
Mechanical Karamchari Sangh Batala
|
..
|
18-8-1967
|
|
26
|
Batala Fire Brigade Workers’ Union Batala
|
..
|
2-2-1968
|
|
27
|
Rickshaw Mazdoor Sangh, Pathankot
|
..
|
2-2-1968
|
|
28
|
Municipal Karamchari Sangh Batala
|
..
|
17-8-1968
|
|
29
|
Fruit and Vegetables Commissions agents Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
27-8-1968
|
|
30
|
Nagar Palika Karamchari Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
19-10-1968
|
|
31
|
Western Command, MES Employees Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
28-3-1969
|
|
32
|
Pathankot Municipal Workers’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
2-4-1969
|
|
33
|
Rickshaw Mazdoor Sangh Batala
|
..
|
12-4-1969
|
|
34
|
Municipal Employees Union, Dinanagar
|
..
|
8-7-1969
|
|
35
|
Hydal Workers; Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
27-10-1969
|
|
36
|
Jal Khoza Vibhag Karamchari Union Gurdaspur
|
..
|
11-3-1970
|
|
37
|
Gurdaspur Central Co-operative Bank Employees Union
Gurdaspur
|
..
|
10-7-1970
|
|
38
|
Karkhana Industrial Workers’ Union, Pathankot
|
..
|
21-7-1970
|
|
39
|
Galla Mandi Mazdoor Sangh, Pathankot
|
..
|
1-5-1971
|
|
40
|
Irrigation Workers’ Union, Gurdaspur
|
..
|
16-11-1971
|
|
41
|
P.W.D. (B&R) Labour Union Punjab Gurdaspur
|
..
|
16-11-1971
|
|
42
|
Co-operative Store Workers’ Union Batala
|
..
|
1-2-1972
|
|
43
|
Municipal Employees Union, Batala
|
..
|
2-6-1966
|
CHAPTER VI
BANKING, TRADE AND COMMERCE
(A) Banking and Finance
(a) History of Indigenous Banking
Banking
has been practised in India since time immemorial. The Vedas, Manusmrities and Kautilya’s Arthashastra bear good
testimony to the existence and efficient working of banking in India in those
good old days. The methods of banking
in force were old and partook more of money-lending, money-changing and the
hundi business, but they served the agriculture of India quite
adequately. In the 11th and 12th
centuries, hundis were extensively used by Indian businessmen. The ancient Indian banking system was very
much different from the Shreshtis and later on as Sahukars. Their business was quite flourishing and
they enjoyed good and reputable position in the society.1
During
the medieval age also, there was neither any change nor any development in the banking
practices for which the political insecurity was mainly responsible. Sahukars continued to carry on
banking business in the same old manner.
They occupied a very honourable position in society and were in close
contact with the rulers.
With
the advent of the British rule, the indigenous banking system declined. The Sahukar’s methods became outmoded and
were by and by replaced by the modern system of banking. Since then the Indian banking has made many
strides with occasional set-back.2
The
indigenous system of banking was full of malpractices like high rate of
interest, defective accountancy, etc.
The money-lender used to safeguard the debt by keeping with him the
agricultural land, ornaments, houses, etc. of his clients. The result was that once a borrower got into
the clutches of the money-lender, he would live in debt and die in debt,
leaving the debt to his next generation.
Moreover, the land of the agriculturists went on passing in the hands of
the non-agriculturists moneyed men.
The
various malpractices in the business of the money-lending attracted the
attention of the Government. To
safeguard the interests of the cultivators, the Government passed the Punjab
Alienation of Land Act, 1900. The Act,
however, failed to improve the lot of the tillers. Though the money-lender had now to be content with the produce,
yet a new class of agriculturist money-lenders came to the fore. According to
_____________________________________________________________________
1. Sharma A.G., State
Relation to Commercial Banking in the Developing Economy of India (Delhi 1968),
pp.53-55
2. Ibid
the Act, credit could be given by the Sahukar
up to the limit of the produce raised on the land, but the agriculturist
money-lender, to whom the Act did not apply, could lend up to the money-lender
from Sahukar to agriculturist money-lender and aggravated the
difficulties of the borrowers instead of lessening them.
The
passing of the Punjab Regulation of Accounts Act, 1930, the Punjab Relief of
Indebtedness Act, 1934, the Punjab Debtors’ Protection Act, 1936, and the
Punjab Registration of Money-lenders’ Act 1938, adversely affected the village
money-lenders. This created a scare in
the minds of the money-lenders who restricted their credit operation.
Need
was, therefore felt to create some agency for providing finance to the
agriculturists. The Royal Commission on
Agriculture, published in 1928, had recommended the development co-operation as
the only the hope of rural India. The
first Co-operative Societies Act was passed in 1904. The Co-operative movement in Gurdaspur District started in 1906,
when a Co-operative Agriculture Credit Society was registered in village Bhaini
Milwan (Tahsil Gurdaspur). By March in
that year were 65 societies at work and from the beginning they promised well
their foundation being in all cases due to intelligent and spontaneous approval
of the people. The Batala and Gurdaspur
tahsils led the way and their societies were one of unbroken progress. Up to 1909, the societies, though among the
best in the then Punjab Provenance, did not increase in number. In the year 1909-10, however, no less then
97 new societies were founded, and a District Central Co-operative Bank was
started to give them financial assistance.
By July 1911, the number of societies in the district had reached 202,
the largest being Bham (Tahsil Batala) started with a capital of Rs
49,000. But their expansion was
considerably retarted by unfavorable and harvests the difficulty of financing the
youngest even with the help of the Central Bank. Hence the next year was marked by the foundation of the four
Union Banks at Gumthala, Kala Afghanan, Bham and Bhaini Milwan. In 1912-13, there were 277 new societies
formed in the district.
The
co-operative movement went on pacing ahead despite the great opposition from
the money-lenders. Three full-fledged
Central Co-operative Banks were established at Gurdaspur, Batala and Pathankot. Among these, the Gurdaspur Central
Co-operative Bank is the oldest which was formed inn 1909. The Batala Central Co-operative Bank Ltd.
Traces its origin to the year 1918, when it was registered in the form of small
co-operative credit union with its headquarters at village Mamrai, about 8 km
east of Batala, with a membership of 24 societies. In 1929, its headquarters were shifted to Batala.
The
passage of the various enactments by the Government also affected the
agriculturist money-lenders. He,
therefore, explored other channels to invest his surplus funds, and finally, he
was effectively checked when the Punjab Alienation of Land Act, 1990, was
replaced with the enforcement of the Constitution of the Republic of India on
January 26, 1950.
A
working class family living survey was conducted at Dhariwal in 1956-66.3 According to its finding, especially the
families falling in the lower income ranges find it necessary to supplement
their merge current incomes to make both ends meet with loans, etc. Religious
ceremonies, ill-health in the family, educational needs and social obligations
are a few occasion which force workers to go under debt. The percentage of families reporting debt
decrease with the increase debt between Rs 250 to less than Rs 500.
Loans
taken for different purposes may be classified as productive and
unproductive. The former are taken to
create or purchase assets like buildings or to purchase the assets or loans
used on enterprise or other purposes account.
The latter are used to meet current deficit, to celebrate marriage, to
education expenditure or any other consumption expenditure or family account.
About
2 percent families at Dhariwal took on enterprise and other purposes
account. Forty-three per cent loans at
Dhariwal were taken from friends and relatives. No loan was taken from banks.
From 50 to 94 per cent of loans were taken at ‘no security’. About 35 per cent of loans taken had not
been reported about regarding the nature of security. About 36 per cent of loans were taken at ‘no interest’. The loans
taken at more than 6 percent rate of interest were the highest (about 55
percent). Majority of the loans were
repaid in quarterly had not been reported to be repaid in any of the
installments.
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