The government started the scheme soon after the mining ban in 2013. Depending on their vehicles, the affected truck owners would get between Rs 8,000 to 12,000. Around 7,000 truck drivers registered for the scheme, which was discontinued within one year. Former Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) vice-chairperson Mahadev Khanolkar stated that many truck owners lost their gold in clearing truck loans, while some were still taking loans to meet the cost of living.
He further said, “After the government lifted the mining ban, many hopeful truck drivers painted and repaired their rusted trucks, but now they feel that this money for maintenance was wasted. Many of us either pledged gold in banks for obtaining loans to buy trucks or used it settle some amount of loans. Now we are keeping our remaining gold to obtain loans for our family to survive.”
He continued, “The BJP government had benefited from the mining issue in the Lok Sabha election, but after the mining closure they only gave us promises to restart it legally. Now that the monsoons have approached, the government is assuring to restart it after the rains.”
Khanolkar said that the government had started the ‘One Time Settlement Scheme (OTS)’ to clear bank loans, but it was not implemented nor was there a response from the banks. He said, “I went with an application to EDC, the implementation authority, but there were no response from its officials. Many truck owners said that the scheme remains on paper.”
The truck owners said that the banks’ position on OTS was not yet clear and that they are anxious about the loss of income and repayment of loans.
