Odisha to provide banking service at panchayat offices

With touts exploiting people in rural and unbanked regions of the state in the aftermath of the demonetisation, the Odisha government today decided to provide banking service at gram panchayat offices.
The decision in this regard was taken at a high level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.
"The panchayat offices can be used as the place for providing banking service in rural areas," a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said.
Informing that the Banking Correspondents (BCs) are appointed by different banks in non-banked and remote tribal areas, the state government said the people can deposit, exchange old currency notes at the panchayat offices.

Patnaik, who reviewed the situation in rural areas arising out of the demonetisation, asked the RBI and state government officials to ensure the people are not exploited by middlemen or put to inconvenience due to shortage of currency notes.
The state government has received reports that middlemen from neighbouring states are giving Rs 400 for exchange of old Rs 500 notes in tribal districts like Koraput, Kalahandi, Nuapada and other bordering districts.

Official sources said more than 4,200 out of 6,238 Gram Panchayats of Odisha do not have banking facilities.
"Seventy per cent Gram Panchayats with 1.65 crore people constituting 47 per cent of rural population of the state do not have proper access to banking facilities of the state," Patnaik had yesterday wrote to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Meanwhile, the state government claimed benefits of different social security schemes like old age pension, widow pension and disability allowance were distributed among above 40 lakh beneficiaries today.
Chief Secretary A P Padhi requested the RBI, Bhubaneswar, to issue directions to banks for using the panchayat offices to provide banking service to the people in rural and remote areas.
RBI Bhubaneswar GM, S P Mohanty said many banks have meanwhile repaired their defunct ATMs.
Odisha has a total of 4,889 bank branches of which 3,041 are nationalised bank branches, 514 are private banks, 991 are rural banks and 343 run by cooperative banks.