AOBEA urges Orissa Govt to implement Task force report

Bhubaneswar, Oct14 (UNI) All Orissa Bank Employees Association(AOBEA) today urged the Orissa government to sign MoU with the Centre for implementation of Task Force Committee report submitted by Prof A Vaidyanathan in December 2004.

The Orissa government had already accepted the report in principle but was adopting a 'dilly dallying' process in signing the MoU with the Centre to implement the report, AOBEA President Souribandhu Kar and General Secretary P K Tripathy told newsmen.

They regretted that instead of installing management through a democractic process, the Orissa government had installed their own ''henchmen'' contrary to the Committee report.

Mr Tripathy urged the Orissa government to follow the foot steps of the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh which has already signed the MoU for revitalization of the Cooperative Banks in the state and declare elections to all cooperative banks forthwith for the benefit of the banks as well as the farmers.

Stating that the Cooperative banks in Orissa accounted for 70 per cent farm credit, the AOBEA urged the state and the centre to provide the financial assistance to the tune of 80 per cent of the entire crop loan provided by the Cooperative banks to the farmers.

It also demanded the lifting of ban on recruitment while realising the gravity of the situation and urged the government to direct all the departments and PSUs to deploy their surplus resources in the Cooperative banks.

Mr Tripathy said the Association was against the withdrawal of the exemption granted to the cooperative banks and demanded the repeal of the amendment of section 80(P) of the Income Tax Act to save the cooperative banks from becoming further sick.

UNI DP KK RN1901