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L.N. Revathy

Coimbatore, Oct. 30 The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Bank Employees Association (TNCBEA) has hailed the amendment brought to Section 136 of the Tamilnadu Cooperative Societies Act 9183, providing autonomy for the Short Term Agricultural Cooperative Banks (STACBs) in the State.

The amendment is part of the MoU that was entered into by the State Government with Nabard in early January this year.

The amendment introduces certain legal and institutional reforms for converting the STACBs, namely, the Tamilnadu State Apex Cooperative Bank, 23 District Central Cooperative Banks and 4454 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Banks into democratic, self-reliant and effective credit outlets.

The amendment is also expected to bring political intervention in the collection and disbursement of loans and advances in cooperative banks to a halt, enable these banks determine the interest rate on loans and advances, place deposits and investments in any other RBI-regulated financial institution apart from higher-tier cooperative banks, help primary agricultural credit society have access to higher financing agencies and remove the geographical barriers for functional aspects by the primary agricultural cooperative societies.

“If the PACS are compensated for the losses suffered by them, it will definitely revive the entire cooperative credit system,” Mr P. Balakrishnan, General Secretary, TNCBEA, told Business Line.

According to the agreement, a sum of Rs 1,250 crore is expected to be given by Nabard with contribution from the Central and State Government.

Mr Balakrishnan, while reiterating that the spirit of the amendments, if properly implemented, would bring about a renaissance in the cooperative credit institutions, said this would help small and marginal farmers avail themselves of credit at easy rates.

More Stories on : Co-operatives | Tamil Nadu

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