State to set up anti-fraud cell to protect cooperative banks

Kolkata: The state government is coming up with an anti-fraud cell headed by a judicial magistrate to check incidents of fraud at cooperative banks across the state.

"An anti-fraud cell will be constituted to prevent incidents of fraud. During the Left Front regime many cooperative banks were involved in financial irregularities. Our government under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been taking various preventive measures in this regard," state Cooperation minister Arup Roy said in the state assembly on Monday.

Later in a programme to mark the centenary year of cooperative banks, Roy urged the people of the state involved in the cooperative movement to organise a strong protest movement against Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill which the Centre is gearing up to table. "It is a destructive plan of the Centre. If it is implemented there will be no guarantee for public money deposited in banks. Common people will be facing major financial problem. We have to all unite for a strong movement to stop the FRDI," Roy said.

State Transport and Environment minister Suvendu Adhikari also appealed to strengthen the cooperative movement to stop the FRDI Bill which is likely to be tabled in the winter session of the Parilament.

"The cooperative banks will be also coming under the FRDI so we all have to unite under one umbrella and organise a protest movement," Adhikari added.

He also lashed out at the Centre on demonetisation and the effecs it had on the cooperative banks in the state.

Eariler in the day, Roy said in the Assembly that the short term loan amount stands at Rs 5713.27 crore in the current fiscal, while the long term loan figure remains at Rs 230.34 crore. According to Roy, the state Cooperation department has allocated Rs 180 crore to 1 lakh families in the state for rearing of animals and has plans to disburse more funds in this regard.