The Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank in Thrissur district, which was in the eye of loan scam, is back to functioning normally, Minister for Cooperation V.N. Vasavan said in the Assembly on Monday.
During a discussion on the Kerala Cooperative Societies (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, he said that the bank had disbursed gold loans worth ₹32 lakh last month. While ₹54.60 crore was returned to depositors, the bank also attracted fresh deposits to the tune of ₹10.60 crore, Mr. Vasavan said. The steps taken by the government to fix accountability for the irregularities detected in the bank and bring the culprits to book have proved effective, he claimed.
The Kerala Cooperative Societies (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to enable a revamp of the co-operative sector by amending the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969, will usher in more transparency, Mr. Vasavan said. The Bill was introduced in the Assembly and referred to the Select Committee.
The Bill seeks to empower the government to make rules for conducting election in the State Co-operative Union and Circle Co-operative Union by the State Co-operative Election Commission. Among other things, it also seeks to enable the government to frame rules to include its nominees in the director boards of cooperatives and to make rules for specifying the types of societies in which a member is restricted to be elected as president or chairman.
