While the RSS leaning co-op body Sahakar Bharati is opposing the idea of merger of district co-op banks into one in Kerala, the Regional Director of ICA Balu Aiyer has supported the concept and think it would do good to the sector.
According to a report in Indian Express “International Cooperative Alliance regional director Balasubramania Iyer, in a letter to Cooperation Minister Kadakampally Surendran, has welcomed the state government’s plan to form the Kerala Bank by merging the state cooperative bank and district cooperative banks.”
Balu was one of the invitees to the Kerala Co-op Congress along with NCUI CE N Satyanarayan and Fishcopfed MD B K Mishra. In his letter Balu talks of proper implementation of the idea of merger.
Sahakar Bharati had threatened to take up the issue of merger with the central government.
Sahakar Bharati Patron Satish Marathe said “the merger of District Cooperative Banks will prove disastrous to the farmers. Instead of going for the merger, the state government should strengthen these Cooperative Banks”, he said.
Sahakar Bharati is planning to meet Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and will write letters to RBI and Nabard on the issue, Marathe said to this correspondent on the phone.
He also recently addressed a meeting organized by National Youth Cooperative Society in Thiruananpuram to discuss this development.
There are about 14 District Cooperative Banks in the state with a network of about 300 branches. Over 64 lakh customers are associated with them. There are about 6 thousand people working in these banks.
The state government has dissolved the boards of these District Cooperative Banks and appointed administrators to oversee their activities.
Marathe said the move by the CPM led LDF aims to destroy rural credit delivery system in Kerala. Marathe says as RBI/NABARD are oblivious to the political consequences of what is being contemplated by the left government, they seem to be lending their support to the move.
Sahakar Bharati has called upon all cooperators to oppose this anti-cooperative move launched by the communist government.
Iyer on the other hand, congratulated the minister for presenting the Kerala Cooperative Policy in the eighth Kerala Cooperative Congress.
