PESHAWAR, Feb 16: Small loans amounting to more than Rs200 million are expected to be distributed by the provincial public sector Bank of Khyber during the current financial year, officials say.

The NWFP government had, during the budget speech, outlined a plan for the bank to extend small loans amounting to Rs250 million during the current financial year in lie with its policy poverty alleviation policy by encouraging self-employment.

However, the sources said the government is likely to miss the target by a slight margin in view of the loans extended so far. Officials said that about Rs85 million was extended in small loans during the first half of the current financial year and it was expected that the bank would distribute between Rs120 million and Rs130 million during the last six months of the current fiscal year.

The provincial government had planned to extend small loans amounting to a billion rupees in a three-year period starting from July 1, 2003. Under the plan, small loans amounting between Rs25,000 and Rs100,000 would be extended to individuals, laying special focus on unemployed women.

The plan seeks to enhance the micro credit scheme's coverage of women to 40 per cent during the same period. In this respect, the bank was tasked to distribute 25 per cent of the distributable amount during the current financial year among female borrowers.

Females' coverage of the current financial year's micro credit programme, said a source, stood around 16 per cent out of the total loans extended so far. "The ratio is expected to improve further in the coming months," said an official.

The increasing chances that the target of extending loans during the current financial year might be missed with a slight margin have been attributed to the retrenchment of the bank's newly-inducted staff and interns.

Several of those retrenched recently, on the directives of the provincial government, were working in the micro credit unit of the bank. The move, said the sources, undermined the performance of the unit causing burden on the remaining staff.

"The bank has got the required funds to meet the annual target of (distributing) Rs250 million, it is because of the shortage of staff that the target may be missed with a slight margin," said a source.