Kerala: Nabard move condemned

The Kerala state assembly witnessed an unusual scene when members cutting across party lines united in support of cooperatives and urged both the RBI and Nabard to desist from implementing the guidelines based on the Prakash Bakshi recommendations that seek to limit the functioning of the cooperative financial bodies.

During the discussions one of the members also levelled charges of corruption against Consumerfed under the cooperation department. The tenor of the discussions in the house was pretty critical of the RBI’s directive to spike the CRR and the SLR that could seriously harm cooperative banking sector.

Some of the members intervened saying the cooperative sector in the state took pride of place on the cooperative map of the country and the RBI moves would only undermine it.

There were voices critical of not allowing primary cooperative banks to use Nabard money for giving agricultural loans. There were also interventions focusing on the rampant graft in the cooperative sector.