With the rural credit scenario of the Maharashtra state coming a cropper, MSC Bank has been asked by the state CM to repair the situation. In an exclusive interview MSC Bank Chairman Vidyadhar Anaskar explains to Indian Cooperative how he plans to tackle the situation.
Anaskar said he wishes to make ailing DCCBs work as the business correspondents of the MSCB. “These BCs would give details of eligible borrowers to us; we would give them fund which they can disburse as loans to the needy borrowers”, Anaskar explained his plan. He also said in return the MSC Bank would give one percent commission to DCCBs for providing the details of borrowers.
To translate this idea into action, the MSC Bank has demanded a capital of Rs 200 crore from the govt. “The NPAs of six DCCBs including Beed, Nagpur, Osmanabad, Buldana, Wardha are worrying; with Beed and Buldhana DCCBs being weighed down by NPAs hovering around 86 %, informed Anaskar.
Earlier, addressing a programme organized on the occasion of the 108th foundation Day of MSC Bank, State Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said due to the RBI’s monetary restrictions and higher NPAs, some of the DCCBs in the state find it difficult to give crop loans to the farmers.
In some of the districts of Maharashtra, the crop loan is completely closed due to bankrupt DCCBs. Farmers not getting crop loan is threatening to become a major political issue and it was in this background that CM asked the MSC Bank to find out a solution.
It is to be noted that quite a few DCCBs, among other factors are sick due to political interference. Incidentally, majority of them are dominated by the NCP or the Congress leaders.
Unpacking the ground realities, Anaskar said those DCCBs which are in difficulties are so due to a host of reasons including RBI’s restrictions on them. He said the MSC bank is confident of finding out the solution to the problem. Together with DCCBs, the apex bank would give finance to the borrowers indirectly”, he said.
It may be recalled that last year the government had sent a proposal to the MSC Bank to take over the loss making Wardha DCCB but the apex bank rejected the idea. Former MD of the apex bank Pramod Karnad said, “Acquiring Wardha DCCB, which has a staggering 98 % NPA would have affected the profitability of MSCB”.
Including Wardha, Nagpur, and Buldhana DCCBs together have a debt burden of Rs 550 crore, there are more than 1,100 employees employed in these banks”, informed one of the top officials of the MSC Bank.
Last year, the state government had set up a committee of experts with the intention of taking action on the merger of the district central co-operative banks with the apex bank but to no avail.
Maharashtra is India’s leading state in terms of the network of co-operatives. The MSC Bank is an apex body for 31 DCCBs which have about 3,746 branches, with a third tier of around 21,085 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) which directly lend to farmers and the rural population.
Besides Fadnavis, Cooperative Minister of State Subhash Rao Deshmukh, MSC Bank Member Sanjay Bhende and others were present on the occasion.
