Large Sized Multi Purpose Coop. Society For Interest Free Loan

What is the LAMPS interest free loan in Tamil Nadu?

The Large Sized Multi Purpose Cooperative Society interest free loan is a credit scheme run by the Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection Department, Government of Tamil Nadu through the state's Large Sized Multi Purpose Cooperative Societies, known everywhere in the cooperative department as LAMPS. A member of a LAMPS can borrow up to Rs 45,000 with no interest charged.

Tamil Nadu has 39 LAMPS, and they exist for a specific reason. According to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, LAMPS were created to serve tribal people and those living in hilly areas, whose settlements sit outside the reach of the ordinary Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society network and far outside commercial banking. A household in the Jawadhu Hills or at Yercaud that needs Rs 30,000 for seed, a milch animal or a small trade has, in practice, one formal lender: the LAMPS.

Membership scale gives a sense of the reach. Jawadhu Hills LAMPS has 17,631 members and Yercaud has 14,530, while the remaining societies serve smaller tribal pockets across districts including Tiruvannamalai, Salem, Dharmapuri, Erode, the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Villupuram and Tirunelveli.

What a LAMPS does, beyond lending

• Short-term and medium-term agricultural loans, jewel loans and Self Help Group finance.
• Supply of fertiliser, seeds and pesticides at reasonable rates.
• Farm equipment on hire through agricultural service centres.
• Procurement and marketing of minor forest produce, which is the main cash income for many tribal households.
• Processing centres adding value to tamarind, honey and samai.
• Fair price shops, mini supermarkets, mobile fair price shops and Common Service Centres.

Seen against that, the interest-free loan is one product in a society whose real function is to be the entire formal economy of a hill settlement.

Who is eligible for the LAMPS interest free loan?

You can apply if:

• You are a member of a Large Sized Multi Purpose Cooperative Society in Tamil Nadu, or are willing to take membership before applying.
• You live within the area of operation of that society, a tribal or hill area.
• You are a resident of Tamil Nadu.
• You have a genuine purpose for the loan; cultivation, an animal, a small trade, equipment or another productive need the society lends against.
• You are not in default on an earlier loan from the same society.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a member of the society. Membership is the hard bar. A non-member is not eligible for any LAMPS loan and must first apply for membership, pay the share amount and be admitted by the society board.
• You live outside the society's area of operation. LAMPS lend within a defined territory; a resident of a plains town cannot borrow from a hill LAMPS.
• You are an existing defaulter to the society or to another cooperative institution.
• The purpose is one the society does not finance under this head.

The scheme is open to eligible members irrespective of community, provided the residency and membership conditions are met. That said, LAMPS were constituted for tribal welfare, several linked subsidies are reserved for Scheduled Tribe members, and a community certificate may be asked for where a subsidy rides on the loan.

How much is the loan and what does it cost?

The Registrar of Cooperative Societies records that LAMPS offer interest-free loans available until maturity for tribal members, along with subsidy of 50 to 75 per cent on medium-term loans and a 90 per cent subsidy for tribal sericulturists. That is the important practical point: the interest-free loan is not the only concession available, and a member should ask the society secretary which head gives the best terms for the purpose at hand before filling a form.

Interest-free treatment usually depends on repayment within the sanctioned period. If a loan runs past maturity, ordinary cooperative interest can begin to apply. Get the repayment date and the consequence of delay in writing.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the LAMPS interest free loan

1. Confirm your membership. Visit the Large Sized Multi Purpose Cooperative Society for your area and check whether you are on the member register. If you are not, apply for membership first — pay the share amount and wait for the board to admit you.
2. Ask the society secretary which loan head suits your purpose. The interest-free loan is one of several products; a crop loan, a jewel loan or a subsidised medium-term loan may serve you better.
3. Collect the loan application form at the society counter.
4. Fill in every mandatory field, paste your passport-size photograph and sign where indicated.
5. Attach self-attested copies of your Aadhaar, residence proof, membership proof, bank passbook and any land or activity document the head requires.
6. Submit the completed form at the society office and obtain an acknowledgement with the date and reference number.
7. Arrange the security the society specifies; guarantors from among fellow members is the usual route for a loan of this size.
8. Collect the sanction order and the repayment schedule at disbursement, and keep both with your passbook.

How to check the status of your application

LAMPS loan applications are processed manually, and there is no online status portal. Use this route:

1. Follow up at the society office with your acknowledgement number. The secretary can tell you whether the file is with the board.
2. Loans of this size are usually sanctioned by the society board, which meets periodically: ask when the next meeting is scheduled.
3. If the file does not move, approach the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies for your district.
4. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Chennai, at rcs.tn.gov.in, is the final departmental authority.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• Not a member. Take membership first; nothing else can be done until then.
• Outstanding dues on an earlier society loan. Clear or reschedule them.
• No acceptable guarantor. Two fellow members in good standing usually suffice; ask the secretary who qualifies.
• Purpose not covered under the interest-free head. Move the application to the correct head rather than resubmitting the same form.
• Name mismatch between Aadhaar, ration card and the member register. Get the society register corrected.
• Application submitted at the wrong society. LAMPS lend only within their own area of operation.

Where to raise a grievance

• The Secretary or Special Officer of the Large Sized Multi Purpose Cooperative Society where you applied.
• The Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies for your district.
• The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Chennai, rcs.tn.gov.in.
• For matters specific to tribal households, the District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer at the collectorate.

The application form is free at the society counter, and no agent can get a LAMPS loan sanctioned for a fee. An interest-free loan with no charges is exactly that: any demand for money to process the file should be reported to the Deputy Registrar.