A ₹ 9,473-crore Potential Linked Credit Plan prepared for Dharwad District by NABARD was released by Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil in Dharwad recently.
The credit plan has been prepared with the theme, Collectivisation of agricultural produce for enhancing farmers income.
Mr. Patil released it during the District Level Review Committee (DLRC) meeting.
Under the credit plan, 57.23 % has been set aside for agriculture sector, 34.07 % for micro, small and medium enterprises, 7.83 % for export, education and housing.
Three language policy
Chairing the meeting, Mr. Patil asked bankers to learn the local language to draw more people to banking. He asked bankers to print all forms and challans in three languages, including Kannada, and use Kannada at the top in all name boards.
Referring to complaints by bank customers, particularly in rural areas, about bank staff not being able to use the local language Kannada for bank transactions, Mr. Patil said that it was mandatory to follow the three language policy and Kannada should be compulsorily used in banks. He also asked bankers to take action against those not following the policy and also inform all other branches about the action taken. Such a step would help create more awareness on the use of local language, he said.
On loan adjustment, Mr. Patil asked the bank officials not to adjust the compensation towards crop loss and house damage credited to farmers accounts with loan repayments. There were also complaints about MGNREGA wages being adjusted with loan repayment, which, he said, should not be done. Such adjustments would force the rural residents to stay away from banking and they would finally end up in the clutches of moneylenders, he added.
Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat B. Susheela too emphasised on the need for banking staff to converse in local languages and said that bankers had a greater responsibility in successfully implementing government schemes.
District Lead Bank Chief Manager R. Annaiah said that priority should be given to use of Kannada in daily banking works and opportunities should be provided to banking staff from other States to learn the local language. This apart, help desks should be set up in all banks to assist customers.
Regional Manager of Bank of Baroda Mati Chakravarthi, Deputy Chief Manager of NABARD Mayur Kamble and others were present.