THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The draft of a legislation aimed at bringing sweeping reforms in the cooperation sector is ready, Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan told the assembly on Monday. The bill will be presented in the next session of the house. He was replying to a discussion on The Kerala Cooperative Societies (Second Amendment) Bill , 2022. The minister called for the support of all stakeholders for bringing in comprehensive change in the cooperation sector and to ensure flawless functioning of the institutions.
The minister said the steps for IT integration in Kerala Bank were progressing well. At present work is on to link the districts of Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram. Next in the list are Kollam and Wayanad. All districts will be linked to the core banking system by December.
The minister refuted allegations that the Kerala Bank was providing less number of loans when compared to those sanctioned by district cooperative banks before the merger. Thirty-five types of loans are sanctioned from the 769 branches of the bank. There is a collateral-free loan scheme for up to Rs 5 lakh. The upper ceiling on loans to individuals is Rs 60 lakh.
The minister said he has given direction to the officers to dispose of all files within 90 days. The Kerala Cooperative Societies (Second Amendment) Bill , 2022, was later passed by the assembly.