GUWAHATI: Building their dream homes for the Assam Government employees has become easier and affordable with Dispur on Thursday inked a MoU with the United Bank of India (UBI) to provide home loan at subsidized interest rates.
The State Government last year signed a MoU with the State Bank of India (SBI) to offer home loans to its employees at cheaper interest rates under the scheme Apun Ghar. During the last one and half year of signing the MoU the SBI has sanctioned home loans to the tune of Rs 2200 crore for the State’s employees. Altogether 19,000 employees have so far availed home loans from the SBI.
State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Apun Ghar scheme is being successfully implemented by the SBI and it is heartening to note that all employees who availed loan from the SBI, are repaying the same with interest in time. “There has been no defaulter in the SBI’s home loan scheme in terms of payment of EMI,” he said, adding that the State Government has already paid Rs 70 loan to SBI as home loan subsidy.
According to Sarma since 51,000 State’s employees are having their accounts with the UBI it has become imperative for the government to reach at an agreement with the said bank to provide home loans to employees at subsidized interest rates. Under the UBI home loan scheme the bank will home loans up to Rs 15 lakh to State employees. While the interest rate for male employees will be 5.5 per cent, it will be 5 per cent for female employees. The employees will get loans without giving anything to the UBI on mortgage. The Assam Government will be the guarantor for the home loan.
Sarma said the home loan scheme is part of the Assam Government’s initiatives to ensure social security of its employees. Since the scheme is successful it is being taken as role model by many other States, the minister claimed.
In Assam’s two hill districts namely Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao the local Karbi Langpi Dehangi Bank is providing similar loans to State employees.