Banks refuse to take coins worth lakhs from Shirdi temple. Here's why

Due to space constraints, four state-owned banks in Shirdi have already stopped accepting coins

The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST), which has crores in deposits with over a dozen state-owned banks, is now facing a fresh issue. The reason is money itself.

The SSST has collectively deposited about a whopping Rs 11 crore in the branches it has accounts with. However, the majority of this money is in the form of coins, a Times of India report said.

According to the report, the trust receives daily donations of lakhs, mostly in the form of coins.

Now, banks are refusing to take deposits from the trust while they deal with the issue of space. Due to space constraints, four state-owned banks in Shirdi have even stopped accepting coins.

 

"Officials of these four banks said they have no space to keep the coins they get every day. This is a big problem for the trust," ToI quoted Rahul Jadhav, the CEO of the trust, as saying.

Seeking a solution for the same, the trust will now write directly to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking its intervention.

Jadhav shared that they have decided to approach banks in other parts of the Ahmednagar district, as well as the state, to help them. "We will open accounts of trust in such banks so that coins can be deposited there."

The trust receives a monthly collection of coins ranging in denomination from 50 paise to Rs 10 worth approximately Rs 28 lakh, said the report.

Banks addressed the issue of countless coins in 2019 too, claiming that bags of coins are taking up space in their branches. The trust then provided banks with facilities within the temple grounds to store these coins. However, such an arrangement is prohibited by the rules, so the banks rejected the offer.