From the banks of river Narmada..

CITIZEN SBI: INTERVENTION – 2

Programme at SBLC, Jabalpur 
25-08-2010 to 31-08-2010

Moments of Collective Fulfillment :
An experience of collective fulfillment shared by Shri Milind Pagare, BM Bina branch. The incident relates to the period when he was posted as Mgr. PBD at Hoshangabad branch.

Project :

Financing for a 250 sets of kitchen, Latrine/bath under ‘Gram Niwas Yojna’ in the rural area.

Problem :

It was difficult to ensure end use of the funds. Chief Manager of the branch was worried because many loans given previously under GNY had gone bad.

Solution :

A meeting was called for gathering of collective intelligence and an idea came forth that a NGO was doing good work in this direction who can be made a stakeholder in the scheme. The NGO was already constructing low cost Lat/bath (rural sanitation) and had good credentials. Further analysis/detailed appraisal depicted that for around Rs. 40,000/- NGO would be able to construct sets of kitchen and Lat/Bath in the villages. A tripartite agreement was drawn and it was agreed that payment was to be made directly to the NGO after verification.

A team was put in place that included the Chief Manager, Shri Pagare (Mgr. PBD), 2 Field Officers and OMR. Duties and responsibilities were allotted.

End Result :

Two villages were selected in the beginning and then it was implemented at the other villages. Members of the team began to visit the villages and soon the scheme became very popular. The farmers coined a name for the scheme i.e. “Swachhata Loan”.

The team on one hand marketed the loan and ensured that payment was released only after the unit became operational and hence made sure of the end use. When 250 units were completed we went again for 250 units more. Since a social cause was being addressed the District Administration sent an appreciation letter to the branch. Due to frequent visits to the villages and interaction with the farmers a close relationship also developed.

The team felt a great sense of satisfaction on completion of the job. They now know that any job can be completed with energy and dedication.

Courtesy: Dilip Guha / Team SBLC, Jabalpur