Banks in Haryana today came under sharp attack for "not extending" loans to the needy, with a senior IAS officer saying he himself is unsure of getting loan from banks when required as there is an atmosphere of "trust deficit" in the banking sector.
He asked bankers to improve their system and change their "mindset" towards lending, especially to poor and downtrodden section of the society.
His views were even supported by Punjab National Bank Executive Director Gauri Shankar in a State-Level Bankers Committee meeting here today.
"There is (an atmosphere of) trust deficit. A common man cannot dare to ask a bank manager to lend him even a small sum of Rs 5,000 as loan. There may be some corruption...There is a need for improvement.
Today if I need a loan of Rs 10 lakh, I am not sure that I will get the same. So there is trust deficit," Haryana Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue & Disaster Management and Consolidation, Dalip Singh said here.
Singh even lashed out at banks for not having much exposure in the rural sector, thus denying banking services to inhabitants of villages.
"It appears that half of banks (in the state) do not have any interest in the rural sector," he said.
Questions were raised on the performance of banks in Haryana when it was pointed out that just nine per cent of the target has been achieved by banks under the debt swap scheme, designed to free farmers from the clutches of money lenders (Arthiyas) in the state.
Though one of the bankers sitting in the meeting said farmers still prefer to seek loan from Arthiyas while attributing this reason to low achievement of target under debt swap scheme.
While presenting his views on this topic, Dalip Singh said earnest efforts should be made by bankers so that needy people get loans, for example setting up a small shop or for purchasing cattle.
He also asked the bankers to conduct a study to ascertain why farmers go to Arthiyas for loan even as money lenders charge high rate of interest from them.
PNB ED Gauri Shankar, who is also the chairman of SLBC, said the views presented by Dalip Singh were true to a large extent.
He also said a lot of requirements need to be fulfilled even if he (Shankar) sought a loan of Rs 40 lakh.
