Over 2,000 Odisha cooperative banks incur losses

As many as 2,076 cooperative banks, out of the total 4,345, have incurred losses due to the Centre's demonetisation scheme, Odisha's Cooperation minister Damodar Rout said today, while adding that the farmers have been the worst hit due to this move.
Replying to a question of Congress MLA C Biswal in the Assembly, he said cooperative banks have been mostly affected due to the demonetisation.
"Following the demonetisation, cooperative banks in the country were barred from accepting and exchanging the demonetized Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. As a result, financial transaction in all cooperative societies in the state was discontinued," Rout said.

Though Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took up the matter with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, no action was taken to remove hurdles before the cooperative banks which render service to mostly farmers and rural people, he added.
Even the Reserve Bank did not come to the rescue of the state government in this regard, Rout said.
He said farmers have bore the brunt due to halt in transaction at cooperative banks.

Though farmers are granted agriculture loans, they are not provided with the money due to lack of hard cash in the banks.
The RBI has recently made some relaxation in the transaction norm for the cooperative banks, but the banks still facing shortage of cash.

The minister said the state government has been trying its best to ease the problems of cooperative banks.