The repayment rate under the “Ghore Phera” programme for slum dwellers has been very high, a development which prompted the central bank yesterday to put another Tk 2 crore into the scheme.

Introduced in 1999 by the Krishi Bank with the aim to rehabilitate slum dwellers back to their native villages, the programme has so far seen recovery rates of 87 percent, according to Md Abdus Salam, the bank's managing director.

The loan carries a 6 percent simple interest payable in 10 years in 120 instalments.

So far, 970 individuals have been rehabilitated in their own villages, he said, adding that 30 percent of them later returned to cities in search of employment.

At an agreement-signing programme yesterday at the Bangladesh Bank headquarters, Atiur Rahman, governor of the central bank, said more funds would be made available for the scheme.

Thanks to the fund injection, the guideline of the loan programme has been changed and the ceiling upped, Salam said. Earlier, a person could take a maximum loan of Tk 50,000 but now the ceiling will be raised to Tk 1 lakh.

Other ceilings too have been increased. For example, for house building a person can now take out a maximum loan of Tk 50,000 loan instead of Tk 7,000 as before.