Uttarakhand State Cooperative Bank will give training to those farmers who are associated with cooperatives across the state. A training institute will be set up in Haldwani for the purpose. The decision was taken during the bank’s 13th Annual General Meeting held recently.
Addressing the AGM, Chairman Dan Singh Rawat said, “Now farmers need not go elsewhere for training. We will set up our own training institute. We have also increased the dividend to be paid to state cooperative banks of the state. From now on, they will get dividend ranging from 7 percent to 7.50 percent”, Rawat said.
Deepak Kumar, MD presented the annual report and informed the gathering that the bank has occupied 22 properties of loanees who have been defaulting on their loans since long. The properties have been attached under the Sarfesai Act.
The Bank Vice-Chairman Mahavir Prasad, Director Amit Chauhan, Kiran Negi, Geeta Rawat and others were present on the occasion.
It was significant that many delegates took the opportunity to urge the management to conduct a probe against irregularities committed in the bank.
Earlier, we reported how the newly elected Chairman of Uttarakhand State Cooperative Bank Dan Singh Rawat is working on a long term strategy to reduce the NPA of the bank in the next years.
The bank also plans to open five new branches in the next financial year at Rudrapur, Haridwar, Dehradun, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar. Presently the bank has 15 branches across the state.
But the Bank has not been in existence without its share of controversies. There are reports that the bank had lent out huge loans to companies dealing in liquor and sugar, and also to small and medium farmers in violation of the very charter of a rural bank.
It is also accused of lending money to the relatives of the board members without any collateral.