HYDERABAD: Cash is not available at several ATMs in the state. Most of the ATMs have “no cash” boards. This month, there is no cash in the ATMs, especially in ATMs of nationalised banks, in the first week itself.
“We are not getting enough cash from Reserve Bank of India (RBI). If RBI does not send the money, the banks cannot do any thing,” an assistant general manager of a nationalised bank said on Saturday, while admitting that the cash was insufficient at several banks.
Several bankers said the situation would turn grave once the State government started issuing cheques to farmers under Rythu Bandhu scheme. “All the farmers will try to encash their cheques. We cannot manage the situation, if the RBI fails to send enough currency to the State,” explained an official of one of the eight banks, which are involved in the distribution of cheques to farmers as part of Rythu Bandhu scheme.
In fact, the Chief Secretary spoke to the RBI officials and later the finance department officials personally met the RBI Governor in Mumbai requesting them to send more currency to the State.
Despite this, according to finance department officials, the RBI has not sent enough cash to the State. What the RBI officials told the bankers and also the State government officials is that the RBI supplied double the money that was withdrawn from the State due to demonetisation of big currency notes. The worth of the notes withdrawn in Telangana due to demonetisation was ` 70,000 crore and the RBI informed the State that it had send double the currency notes to the state. However, the bankers are saying that the public are withdrawing money from ATMs and they are not remitting any cash with bankers.
Normally, around 60 to 70 per cent of the total money withdrawn from banks will return to the banks.
“The cash receipts are very less. The public kept the `2,000 notes with them. We have no notes of `2,000 to make them available in ATMs,” manager of a bank branch explained. Even the circulation of `200 notes slowed down in the recent times. “It all depends on the RBI to provide money to farmers in the coming two months. If RBI does not provide any respite, then it will create a big problem in the state for Rythu Bandhu programme,” a bank official said.