: Prime Minister Narendra Modi always harps on financial inclusion by way of bank account for every individual and one bank branch in every panchayat, but there are 13 blocks in Bihar which do not have a branch of any commercial bank. Put differently, 5,298 panchayats out of 8,471 panchayats in the state don't have a bank branch.
Nationwide, there is one bank branch for a population of 11,000, but in case of Bihar the figure is one branch for 17,000 people.
In this backdrop, CM Nitish Kumar has asked the banks to expedite the process of setting up at least one branch in the 13 blocks at the earliest to meet the national guidelines for financial inclusion. There are 543 blocks in the state.
"I would request the bankers in the state to establish one branch in each block and make efforts to meet the national average of one branch for a population of 11,000," said Nitish the other day while interacting with the representatives of different banks at the State-Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting.
The blocks without a bank branch are: Ismailpur (in Bhagalpur district), Kaisath (Buxar), Mohra (Gaya), Ramgarh (Lakhisarai), Ben and Tharthari (Nalanda), Mescore and Kashichak (Nawada), Banma Itahari (Saharsa), Shivajinagar (Samastipur), Panapur (Saran) and Bhitaha and Piprasi (West Champaran).
"If we take into account panchayats, then out of 8,471 panchayats only 3,173 panchayats have a branch of commercial bank. There are 5,298 panchayats where there is no branch," said an officer of the finance department.
Blaming the banks for their indifferent attitude towards achievement of the goal of financial inclusion for everyone, the officer said, "Now, the state government is working on a project for direct transfer of funds to panchayats. The CM has asked panchayati raj department and finance department to open an account for each panchayat and transfer funds from the headquarters for different schemes into them. If we don't have a bank branch at the panchayat level, how can we think of planning a transparent financial inclusion model for all in Bihar?"
To ensure the opening of at least one bank branch in each panchayat, Nitish has offered space at the panchayat sarkar bhavans. "The government has constructed 236 panchayat sarkar bhavans and banks can set up their branches there," said Nitish.
Nationwide, there is one bank branch for a population of 11,000, but in case of Bihar the figure is one branch for 17,000 people.
In this backdrop, CM Nitish Kumar has asked the banks to expedite the process of setting up at least one branch in the 13 blocks at the earliest to meet the national guidelines for financial inclusion. There are 543 blocks in the state.
"I would request the bankers in the state to establish one branch in each block and make efforts to meet the national average of one branch for a population of 11,000," said Nitish the other day while interacting with the representatives of different banks at the State-Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting.
The blocks without a bank branch are: Ismailpur (in Bhagalpur district), Kaisath (Buxar), Mohra (Gaya), Ramgarh (Lakhisarai), Ben and Tharthari (Nalanda), Mescore and Kashichak (Nawada), Banma Itahari (Saharsa), Shivajinagar (Samastipur), Panapur (Saran) and Bhitaha and Piprasi (West Champaran).
"If we take into account panchayats, then out of 8,471 panchayats only 3,173 panchayats have a branch of commercial bank. There are 5,298 panchayats where there is no branch," said an officer of the finance department.
Blaming the banks for their indifferent attitude towards achievement of the goal of financial inclusion for everyone, the officer said, "Now, the state government is working on a project for direct transfer of funds to panchayats. The CM has asked panchayati raj department and finance department to open an account for each panchayat and transfer funds from the headquarters for different schemes into them. If we don't have a bank branch at the panchayat level, how can we think of planning a transparent financial inclusion model for all in Bihar?"
To ensure the opening of at least one bank branch in each panchayat, Nitish has offered space at the panchayat sarkar bhavans. "The government has constructed 236 panchayat sarkar bhavans and banks can set up their branches there," said Nitish.
No comments:
Post a Comment