The access to banks for underprivileged like labourers in rural areas is yet a distant dream for many, as bankers show little interest in opening accounts for them. Data available with Business Standard show regional rural banks and co-operative banks have yet to cover miles to offer banking facilities in non-banking areas.
State government and bankers have held several meetings in this regard ending in stalemate. The state officials say bankers avoid opening of accounts for poor on the other hand bankers say they need proper infrastructure and government commission to open accounts.
As a result the Union government’s target to cover all villages of more than 2,000 population by 2012 is far away. As a result, direct transfer of subsidies on LPG, Kerosene and fertilizers will be affected the most. There are at least 32 other schemes where the benefits are to be greatly enhance the efficiency of such transfers. More over payment of MNREGA wages to the beneficiaries is required to be made in a fixed time period, is unlikely to be achieved. The data also indicates if bankers stay with their snail pace strategy and approach for the extension of financial services will be jeopardised in the state.
“They need to work more; they shift the headquarters of the banks in rural areas to urban areas. It creates lot of problems in opening bank accounts under financial inclusion programme,” a senior government official alleged who deals with rural development activities.
The data also shows against the target of 1,850 villages in 2011-12, bankers have covered only 475 villages (till September 2011); branches have covered only 14 villages, business correspondents 391 and IT-enabled only 70. The banks like Axix Bank, Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur have covered almost no village so far against the allotted number of 135. Similarly Rewa Sidhi Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Narmada Malwa Regional rural bank, Satpura Narmada Kshetriya Gramin Bank and VIdisha Bhopal Kshetriya Gramin Bank has covered no village under the allotted 587 this year. In a similar fashion co-operative banks have also skipped their target of 15 villages.
“Sub-committees of district level cooperative committees are supposed to review the progress of implementation of financial inclusion but sadly it is not happening in the state,” said the official. The bankers, however, said commercial banks had covered 1,495 villages or 54 per cent of the target and efforts were being made to cover more villages of 2,000 or more population. There are 2,736 villages having 2000 or more population in the state.
