A conference will be organised in the City on February 18 as an effort to save the Kolar-Chikkaballapur District Cooperative Credit Bank, said G C Bayya Reddy, general secretary of the Karnataka Pradesha Raitha Sangha.

Speaking at a press conference in the City on Tuesday, Reddy said farmers, cooperatives and elected representatives will participate in the event at the Journalists’ Auditorium.

“The Reserve Bank of India has warned that the licence of the DCC Bank will be cancelled and the Bank will also be closed. The conference has been therefore called to prevent this by giving agricultural loans to farmers at 1 per cent rate of interest,” he added.
The Kolar-Chikkaballapur DCC Bank was in the fore-front for several decades in giving agricultural loans to farmers, but fell into the hands of self-seeking, power-hungry persons. The Bank has been barely surviving the last about 10 years, rued Reddy.

Investors cheated
“Thousands of customers who invested in the Bank were cheated. Farmers have been denied facilities like waiver of loans and/or interest and even loans at 1 per cent rate of interest. The elected presidents, directors and other officers of the Bank are responsible for the condition of the Bank, but they have escaped punishment,” alleged Reddy and called for strict action against the guilty.

The State has granted short-term agricultural loans with 1 per cent interest rate up to Rs 4,297.33 crore in 2010-11. Of this, the Belgaum Bank has given Rs 544.05 crore, Bagalkot Bank Rs 448.95 crore, Dakshina Kannada Bank Rs 488.12 crore and Bijapur Bank has given up to Rs 433 crore. The Kolar-Chikkaballapur, however, has succeeded in giving loans only up to Rs 26.98 crore, informed Reddy.

He added that of the 195 Primary Cooperative Societies in the district, only 97 are in working condition. The farmers are all dependent on these societies for loans.

“The State government has closed as many as 98 societies that had irregularities and ordered that only properly functioning cooperative societies should lend money to farmers,” he said. “It has also declared that the 98 closed societies would be replaced.

But the process is already witnessing a lot of party politics, which is only delaying the process of setting up of the societies,” he rued.

The absence of primary cooperative societies has also brought the process of giving loans to a stand-still. Meanwhile the RBI has sent an order to the DCC Bank to better its condition by March 31 to avoid cancellation of licence as well as closure of the DCC Bank, Reddy reminded.

He also called on the State government to take the elected representatives and organisations into confidence and work towards restoration of the 195 primary cooperative societies and also give agricultural loans to farmers starting this year itself.

P R Suryanarayana, president of the district unit of the Union, T M Venkatesh, general secretary, T Krishnegowda, taluk president and Narayana Reddy were present at the press conference.