Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi declared that his government would reimburse individuals who lost their savings when the Urban Cooperative Bank in Bhubaneswar ceased operations in 2015.
During an event at Lok Seva Bhawan where he inaugurated 1,542 Multipurpose Primary Agriculture Cooperatives (MPACs) on Wednesday, Majhi stated that the decision to refund the depositors’ money was made to restore public confidence in the cooperative banking system.
The Urban Cooperative Bank was shut down in 2015 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revoked its license due to the State government’s failure to merge it with another cooperative bank. This closure resulted in approximately 13,797 depositors losing around Rs 30 crore, while loans totalling Rs 17.82 crore were left uncollected from 1,760 customers.
With the launch of the new MPACs, the total number now stands at 4,253. Majhi noted that the government has planned 54 initiatives for the cooperative sector.
These initiatives encompass the implementation of model by-laws to diversify Primary Agriculture Cooperatives, strengthening them through computerization, and providing fertilizers and seeds. The government also aims to establish public medicine centres, common service centres, and agricultural service centres, among other projects.
Majhi mentioned that the state plans to develop 77 PACs into model PACs in the initial phase. These model PACs will function as comprehensive centres, offering a range of agriculture-related services.
The Chief Minister stated that efforts are underway to rebuild trust in cooperatives and position them as a key driver of rural economic development. He emphasized that computerization is essential to prevent corruption and announced a comprehensive audit of all primary cooperatives’ accounts.
He pointed out that over 90 per cent of the state’s agricultural families receive various services for agricultural work through PACs. Additionally, Majhi highlighted that OMFED (Odisha Milk Federation) has become a crucial support system for dairy farmers in the state. At the event, he also distributed micro ATMs and Rupay cards to members of several cooperative societies.