Rs 100 cr withdrawn from state’s apex co-op bank

Kolhapur District Central Bank first to take out money after dissolution of MSCB board, say insiders

Rs 100 cr withdrawn from state's apex co-op bank

Kolhapur District Central Bank first to take out money after dissolution of MSCB board, say insiders

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, one of the directors of the MSCB, was furious about the decision taken by the Chief Minister. "It is a clear political decision to finish my political career," he said. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the move to dissolve the board of the MSCB was in accordance with the orders given by the Union Finance Minister and the Reserve bank of India.

In light of these developments at the MSCB, Bharatiya Janata Party's Eknath Khadse, who is Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, demanded Pawar's resignation yesterday. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an officer from the Kolhapur District Co-operative Bank said, "It is true that we have taken out Rs 100 crore only to keep our deposits safe. We have preferred to keep our deposits with the Reserve bank of India. There is Rs 450 crore additional deposits with the MSCB, which may be removed soon."

The source added that the bank was aware that many of MSCB's depositors were feeling unsafe despite the assurance by the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) that their money was safe. The source said it was NABARD that sent a detailed report to the RBI suggesting the appointment of an administrator for the MSCB.

Chavan made an appeal that depositors should not worry about their deposits. "We have only made a change in the present administration of the bank, nothing more," he said. BJP MLA Devendra Phadanvis, who took up the MSCB issue in the recent summer session in the assembly, stated that cotton mills, city cooperative banks, private cooperative credit societies, milk cooperative mostly located in the western region of the state need not worry.

"It is only individual depositors who will panic and not the banks and other big cooperative sector," he said.
Phadanvis said that so far, the 572 urban cooperative banks (UCBs), 33 district central cooperative banks (DCCBs), 1,873 agricultural cooperative credit societies and 1,009 other cooperative societies have invested their funds in MSCB. "I only wish that the oldest cooperative movement in Maharashtra should not get hampered only because of MSCB's suspected corruption," he said.

Sanjay Khandalkar, president, Karjadar Hakka Samiti (Debtor Rights Committee), condemned MSCB's alleged corruption in the recent past. "We all are asking for a CBI inquiry and also demanding the declaration of the property of 44 MSCB directors. The Pune District Central Bank also has deposits in MSCB to the tune of Rs 21 crore," he said.u00a0u00a0

The Other Side
B R Chavan, manager, MSCB Pune branch, ruled out the possibility of withdrawals from depositors. He said, "As per my knowledge and information, the Kolhapur District Central Bank had withdrawn Rs 100 crore earlier, before the appointment of the administrator for MSCB."

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