Malwa cooperative societies see increase in recoveries

MUKTSAR :The cooperative societies in Muktsar, Faridkot and Fazilka have witnessed a steady rise in the loan recovery following the directions of Punjab cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to officials to take stern actions against the defaulters.

There are 144 cooperative societies in Muktsar, which have recovered ₹2 crore, while 89 such societies in Faridkot have got back ₹1.27 crore in the past two months.

Confirming the recovery, Muktsar central cooperative bank manager LS Brar said, “We are dealing with the defaulters in a strict manner now. A meeting was held last month where a list of top-10 wilful defaulters of each branch was prepared along with another charter of top-50 such defaulters in each district.”

Speaking to HT, Fazilka central cooperative bank manager Harinder Singh said, “There are 124 cooperative societies in Fazilka. With the recovery of ₹2.7 crore from wilful defaulters in the last two months, our recovery rate has hit the 61.69% mark.”

“Cooperatives are based on the ‘By the farmers, for the farmers’ concept. So every farmer should pay his loan

timely as it is high time now,” said Balraj Singh, a young farmer from Wattu village in Muktsar.

AWARENESS CAMPS TO ENCOURAGE FARMERS

“We have already organised 10 financial literacy camps to spread awareness among farmers and are now holding member awareness programmes (MAP) in the societies,” Harinder said. Brar said, “We are encouraging farmers to repay their loans in time in order to avail the discount of 2.5%.”

“If any farmer gets loan waiver, he will get this benefit even after the repayment of the loan amount,” Brar added.

LAMBI LAGS BEHIND

Brar said, “The recovery rate in Lambi block is 48%, lagging behind Muktsar that is at 60%.”

STAFF SHORTAGE ANOTHER CHALLENGE

Cooperative banks are reportedly facing acute staff shortage.

As the per the figures, 125 posts of senior managers, managers and their assistants besides other clerical staff are vacant in Muktsar district only.

Harinder said, “The public has high hopes in this era of stiff competition and it is very challenging for us to work amid the staff shortage.”