Rajkot seeks release of Rs 160 cr Smart City Mission fund in Yes Bank

The Rajkot Municipal Corporation has written to the Reserve Bank for the release of the Smart City Mission fund worth about Rs 160 crore stuck in the troubled private sector lender Yes Bank, Gujarat deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said on Saturday.

Patel said that apart from the Rs 160 crore, the government has no other deposit in the capital-starved Yes Bank which was placed under moratorium for one month on Thursday. The RBI has superseded the board of Yes Bank and capped withdrawals at Rs 50,000.

"As per information provided to me, around Rs 160 crore Smart City Mission fund of RMC is deposited in Yes Bank. The money belongs to the Central governmentand the RMC, and hence the municipal corporation has written to the RBI with the request to release the fund as per its requirement," Patel, who also handles the Finance portfolio, told reporters in Gandhinagar.

As per primary information, the state government has no other deposit in Yes Bank.

Meanwhile, a Yes Bank depositor complained of some procedural issues while standing in a queue outside his bank in Ahmedabad.

"I reached here around 7:30 am after the bank said it will issue a new token for withdrawal today. But the bank is now saying that 120 tokens are still pending. I was not issued a token yet. I hold a bulk deposit in the bank," he said.

The customer said he has been standing in the queue since 8 am.

"I have a salary account in the bank. I have not withdrawn my salary yet," he said.

As per RBI's draft reconstruction scheme, State Bank of India will pick up 49 per cent stake in the crisis-ridden Yes Bank under a government-approved bailout plan.