Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured a visiting delegation of senior cooperators on Monday to look into the matter of co-operative banks and do something urgently about it. A six member delegation of cooperators led by NCUI President Chandra Pal Singh Yadav and NAFSCOB Chairman Dileepbhai Sanghani met the Minister in Parliament on Monday to thrash the continuing logjam out bedeviling cooperative banks in the country as a consequence of demonetization.
“I am going to meet the RBI Governor tomorrow and would certainly talk to him on the issues being raised by you”, Jaitley is believed to have said. Talking to Indian Cooperative NCUI President Chandra Pal said” we are hopeful as the Minister sounded positive”.
Readers would note that District Central Cooperative Banks have been debarred from the exchange of old currency notes unlike other banks. Apart from an avalanche of petitions, this has led to scores of court cases across the country. The matter was to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday but has been postponed for the next Monday December 9 because Chief Justice was not available.
NAFSCOB Chairman Dileepbhai Sanghani said “ The RBI should issue a fresh circular allowing old currencies collected by District Cooperative Banks after demonetization to be exchanged with new currency notes”.
“Because of this we are not able to pay loans to Nabard, Sanghani said soon after his meeting with the Minister to this correspondent. “We are having Banking license and the benefits provided by GOI to other banks should also be given to Cooperative Banks.” he said.
In response to a query if the Minister raised the matter of money laundering by coop banks as reported widely in media, Chandra Pal said “ No, he did not; what he said was the lack of sophisticated technology in co-op banks which may not allow them to tell fake notes from genuine ones”.
“We assured him that co-op banks are well-equipped. Now even Nabard has said that co-op banks are
capable of conducting advance banking”, Chandra Pal underlined. “Our concern is the lack of fund for farmers in this current sowing season; we believe we could convey this to the Minister”, he added.
Gujarat State Cooperative Bank Chairman Ajaybhai H.Patel, NCUI Vice Chairman Bijendra Singh, NAFSCOB MD Bhima Subrahmaniyam and V P Singh were also present on this occasion.
Earlier, in the NAFSCOB board meeting in Bangalore, the board members had urged NCUI President Chandra Pal Singh to arrange a meeting with Union Finance Minister Arun Jailtey.
Looking forward to a positive response from the RBI governor.
Dccb is wery hoberabl banking & graund levels of rural area
The moment name of cooperatives come the so called elite officials and institution make negative image. Now RBI needs to reply after AXIS bank incidents. Cooperatives employees may commit mistake but not like axis bank employees corrupt practices.
DCCBs are the friend of farmers in need through the primary cooperatives.