Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur released booklet 'Onetime Settlement Policy' of the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank here today.Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister said that the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank since its inception on 15th March, 1954 has today emerged as pioneer bank of the State with working capital of Rs. 15950.81 crore, deposits of Rs. 12325.98 crore and loans worth Rs. 7081.17 crore. He said that the bank was providing banking services through its 218 branches and 23 extension counters throughout the State. He said the 'Onetime Settlement Policy' envisages settlement of about 181 cases of loans thereby recovering Rs. 26.14 crore in this respect.Jai Ram Thakur said that settlement of bank dues through Lok Adalat aimed at reducing non-performing assets of the Bank and also provide a mechanism for alternate dispute redressal to ensure recovery of bad debts and grant relief to all eligible borrowers who are facing the problem in repayment of loans.
He said that ceiling of amount for coverage of cases under this scheme have been fixed upto Rs. 20 lakh. He said that the bank aimed to recovery about Rs. 30 crore by resolving about 2000 loan cases.Urban Development and Cooperation Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said that the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank was one of the most popular bank in rural areas of the State. He said that with a customer base of over 15.56 lakh, the bank has been provided a status of Scheduled Bank by the Reserve Bank of India.Chairman, Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank Khushi Ram Balnahta welcomed the Chief Minister and detailed salient features of Onetime Settlement Policy of the Bank.Managing Director of the Bank Shrawan Manta also detailed out the activities of the Bank.