The Hindu Business Line : Kerala Minister's plea to Centre

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Minister for Co-operation and Ports, Mr M.V. Raghavan, has requested the Union Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, to refrain from giving the go-ahead to the move aimed at amending the Banking Control Act.

The Banking Control (Amendment) Bill, 2003, proposed to be moved during the next session of Parliament, would sound the death knell for the co-operative movement in the State, the Minister told Mr Singh in a communication. Moreover, cooperation being a State subject, the Centre's move would be in contravention to the Constitutional provisions.

One of the amendments proposed seeks to prevent co-operatives from engaging themselves in trade and commercial activity. The co-operative movement had made its presence felt through its involvement in the public distribution system, and chains of fair price outlets for essential commodities such as the Maveli, Neeti and the Neeti Medical Stores and fertiliser vending outlets. All these would have to be wound up if the amendment were to be moved in the House, the Minister said.

The proposed amendments would also gradually create a situation where co-operative banking institutions would alienate people and prevent access to them. For instance, the Minister said, the State had 1,600 primary agricultural co-operative societies, which owned combined deposits of Rs 7,898 crore. Of this, Rs 6,131 crore had been advanced as loans, with almost 40 per cent being directed to the agricultural and allied services sector. In comparison, the nationalised/scheduled banking network boasted deposits of Rs 60,000 crore, only a much smaller portion of which had been advanced to farmers as credit.

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