Punjab minister assures probe into fraud in Hindu Cooperative Bank

Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Thursday assured the assembly of a probe into the fraud in the Hindu Cooperative Bank, Pathankot. Replying to Congress MLA from Pathankot Amit Vij, who had asked about the revival of the NPA-hit bank with 80,000 account holders, the minister said an inquiry will be marked in this case.

"The bank has turned into a non performing asset (NPA) and an FIR has been lodged against its managing director," Randhawa said during the Question Hour in the House. The minister informed that the Hindu Cooperative Bank in Pathankot got the initial six month cash withdrawal limit enhanced from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 on September 24, 2019, and Rs 15,000 on January 13, 2020, by its improved performance.

The bank has sanctioned an amount of Rs 1,628 lakh to 4,208 account holders for the purpose of marriage, education, medical and other requirements after obtaining approval from the RBI, he said. He said the bank has also been able to reduce its losses from Rs 5,649 lakh to Rs 2,285 lakh.

"It has been successful in making loan recovery of Rs 38 crore by following RBI guidelines," Randhawa said. The Pathankot MLA sought infusion of Rs 20 crore from the state government to put the bank on track.

In a separate question, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said the Bus Rapid Transit System project in Amritsar was facing operational loss of Rs 3 crore per month. Responding to Congress MLA Sunil Dutti's question, Badal said the service is free for school students, while college students get a concession of 66 per cent and senior citizens 50 per cent.

Replying to a question of Congress MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh directed the home department to examine the feasibility of relocating the office of the Ghanour police station from its existing location to a more open and spacious place. The chief minister also assured the House that his government would soon come up with a policy to compensate farmers whose land are used by the Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited for installation of towers.

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