BHUBANESWAR: With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slapping restriction on Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) on withdrawal of funds, members of these primary societies have been advised to open accounts in district central cooperative banks (DCCBs) for higher transaction.
While advising all commercial banks to permit withdrawal of cash by DCCBs from their accounts based on need, the RBI has imposed a limit on cash withdrawal by PACS at `24,000 per week. The RBI restriction has virtually brought the PACS operation to a halt as the crop credit and other cash requirement of individual members are far more than the withdrawal limit.
With a deposit of over `2000 crore, the PACS are in a position to meet the cash needs of the farmer members. However, the RBI restriction has put these short term cooperative credit structure in a bind as their deposits are with respective DCCBs.
Government Chief Whip Ananta Das has taken up the matter with Cooperation Minister Damodar Rout following objections from members of Purusottampur PACS in Balliapal block of Balasore district. They have a deposit of about `80 lakh in the PACS.
As rabi operations are in full swing and farmers are positioning themselves to go for moong and biri cultivation, those who have applied for loans said they have no time to go to the district headquarters, where the DCCBs are mostly located, to open fresh accounts.
Das, representing Bhogarai Assembly constituency, has urged the Cooperation Minister to ensure that the farmer members of the PACS draw required amount from their accounts in the primary societies instead of opening new accounts in DCCBs.
The state has 2513 PACS and 212 LAMPS (Large Area Multi-Purpose Societies) with a total membership of 50 lakhs out of which nearly 12 lakh are loanee members.