We are well-monitored: MD Citizen Co-ops

Speaking in the seminar on banning of unregulated depository schemes Ram Prasad, MD of the Citizen Co-op Societies based in Hyderabad said the kind of control that our members keep on us is unimaginable when you compare it with the AGM of corporate.

More than 2500 delegates come to our AGM and they keep us busy till evening by asking all kinds of questions. They would leave only when they are satisfied, Prasad said.

A credit cooperative founded with an aim to help the senior citizens, the Citizen Co-op Societies today boast of a turnover of Rs 1600 crores with 41 branches. It is unfortunate that we are being compared with ponzy schemes, he lamented.

Prasad explained the contradiction in which while the state credit cooperatives have been allowed to collect deposit the multi state credit co-ops have been debarred. We have govt representatives who come to monitor us and they leave satisfied yet this step-motherly treatment, he stated.

His CGM PV Subbaiah Choudary told Indian Cooperative “we strictly accept deposits only from our members and if someone comes with huge fund we turn him down. Our greatest fear is if the govt suddenly decides to stop us from working there would be a mad rush by the depositors to get back their deposits leading to scrambles.

Explaining the case of Citizen Co-op, Choudary said we have Rs 950 crore in deposits and Rs 650 crore in loans; tell us how would we be able to manage in a situation of crisis? he asked.

There are ponzy agents across the world; the concerned govt identifies them and weed them out unlike the strangulating bill that is being pushed in case of our country, he said.