The Monday notification of RBI on facilitating state govts eager to get their DCCBs amalgamated with state co-op banks is a shocker for many. More so because it came at a time Sahakar Bharati had written to RBI and the Finance Minister and was hopeful of a peaceful resolution of the issue.
Sahakar Bharati, which owes its allegiance to the Sangh Parivar (RSS) always held the view that the three-tier system of rural credit is crucial for making India a 5 trillion economy. It held many brain-storming sessions on the issue, as recently as a couple of months ago at the NCUI headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Parshottam Rupala and Suresh Parbhu.
Talking to Indian Cooperative Sahakar Bharati leaders say there are 363 DCCBs at the centre of the 3 Tier Rural Credit Delivery System and cover 6.93 lakhs villages through a network of 14,224 Number of branches and 95,238 No of PACS in the Country. In the process, DCCBs through its branches and through PACs, cumulatively serve Banking and Financial needs of over 13 Crore Shareholders / Members, they noted.
If DCCBs are disbanded, the new entity would not be able to meet the requirements of such a large body of Shareholders and hence, it is highly necessary that the middle Tier of DCCBs needs to be strengthened for achieving the twin objectives of Doubling Farmers’ Income and making India Atma Nirbhar, they argued.
Explaining further they said a National Policy should be first made before granting any such amalgamation to co-op banks. There is a need to set up a broad-based Committee of representatives of GOI, State Governments, NITI Aayog, RBI, NABARD, Federal Cooperatives and Co-operators to define the Roles of Co-operative Financial Institutions, particularly, PACs, DCCBs and State Co-op Banks, they underlined.
Last month Sahakar Bharati submitted a Resolution to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, which was drafted in the National Conclave of DCCBs held under the aegis of Co-operative Development Forum (CDF) in March at the NCUI headquarters.
They have also written to the Governor, Reserve Bank of India and the Chairman, NABARD, requesting them not to entertain any proposal for merger of DCCBs with State Co-op Banks till a National Policy is formulated and made operative.
We are also separately writing to all Chief Ministers and Co-operation Ministers of all the States, requesting them not to consider any proposal to merge DCCBs with State Co-op Banks, said senior Sahakar Bharati leader Uday Joshi.
For follow-up actions, we shall shortly constitute a National Committee to take up the issue with all concerned Institutions and Ministries at the levels of Center and States. We are also inviting DCCBs to join the National Committee to strengthen the Co-operative Movement to achieve rapid, equitable and sustainable growth of the Rural and Agricultural Sectors, he added.
National Conclave of DCCBs was attended by over 165 Chairmen, Directors, MDs, Administrators, Senior Officials of DCCBs from 13 States viz Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan, Odisha, Sikkim.
The Conclave was also attended by Chairmen / Directors of some State Cooperative Banks, besides many eminent Co-operators from various States. After detailed deliberations lasting over 5 hours, during which over 30 participants expressed their views.