Two years ago when Irfan Alam, a young IIM graduate, started the Sammaan Foundation in Bihar that helped people get bank loans for buying rickshaws and thereby, earn a living, it was hailed as a revolution. From the initial 100 people, today there are a few lakh beneficiaries of Alam’s organisation. Now, the state government is going to add a new chapter to this revolution. Within a month, the Bihar government will launch a scheme to provide six lakh rickshaw-pullers life and health insurance.
Touted as one of the most pro-poor reforms of the government, the scheme will help rickshaw-pullers get subsidised loans from a specialised micro finance branch of the Canara Bank, with which the government has tied up, said D K Shukla, Special Secretary, Urban Development & Housing Department. The rate of interest for the loan will be 7-8 per cent, said Shukla.
“Alam started it on a small level. We are doing it for the entire state. We had undertaken a sample survey to find out the number of rickshaw-pullers and their socio-economic profile. Based on the survey, we designed a scheme. We have spoken to the Sammaan Foundation about mobilising rickshaw-pullers and to get the knowhow. We will also recruit an agency for capacity building work,†Shukla said.
While the government will pay the maximum share of the premium on health and life insurance, which has been capped at Rs. 1 lakh, the rickshaw-pullers will have to pay a nominal share. In case of accidents, the cover will be up to Rs. 30,000 and their families will be covered under the scheme as well.
“The scheme will be launched within a month once we finalise all the details,†Shukla said.
As per government survey, Patna has one lakh rickshaw-pullers and 20 per cent of them have mobile phones, which can be used to issue micro finance through banks. For the rest, details are being worked out.
During a study on slums in urban areas, the state government found that rickshaw-pullers couldn’t be counted as slum population as a slum is defined as a cluster of 20 households lacking basic amenities.
“We found that rickshaw-pullers were living on the streets,†Shukla said.
This is also the first time a state government is launching a specific scheme for rickshaw-pullers. There are a few NGOs that are working in this area, such as the Centre for Rural Development that came up with the idea of a rickshaw bank in 2004.