Cabinet empanels 15 district co-op banks, 2 regional rural banks, IDBI for government salaries, pension, investment

After withdrawing its accounts from six private banks after the new government came to power, the state cabinet on Wednesday allowed the empanelment of 15 district

After withdrawing its accounts from six private banks after the new government came to power, the state cabinet on Wednesday allowed the empanelment of 15 district cooperative central banks (DCCB), two regional rural banks (RRB) and IDBI for government investment and salary accounts.

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The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, had scrapped its agreements with six private banks in March. The earlier government’s decision to rope in certain private banks had led to allegations of favouritism.

The MVA government published the list of nationalised banks with which agreements were made for salary and pension accounts, and investment. The state cabinet on Wednesday decided to include the DCCBs, RRBs, and IDBI in the list of banks through which it would be conducting transactions.

The cooperative banks are the backbone of the rural economy, while the other two banks have state and central government stakes, the statement by the government mentioned.

“The finance department enters into a contract with these banks with conditions related to the interest rates and service charges on salary and pension. We had already finalised contracts with nationalised banks in March this year. There will be fresh contracts with these banks added on Wednesday,” said an official from the finance department.

AAI had reduced the rent as per the court order. The state government has now brought it down at par, a move that is expected to lead to revenue reduction by ₹6.39 crore.

The state cabinet has also decided to keep the rate of Shiv Bhojan thali at ₹5 for three more months till September. The rate was reduced on March 30, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the cabinet gave its approval for the conversion of excessive milk into skimmed milk powder to avoid losses to dairy farmers. The demand for milk has reduced by 17 lakh litre a day, owing to the Covid-19 lockdown announced in March.

Cabinet to amend MRTP Act for extra time to work on DP

The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to amend the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act, to seek extra time lost during the lockdown for the completion of procedures related to development plans (DP), excluded parts (EPs) and regional plans.

Section 148-A of the MRTP Act gives powers to municipal corporations to extend the deadline for the process in case of a lapse of time because of the code of conduct or court orders.

“This will help in the extension of the deadline of the EP for Mumbai and Shirdi, and DP of Aurangabad, Beed, and Nanded,” said an official from the urban development department.

The official, however, clarified that the period of the lockdown is yet to be decided as it still has not ended.

‘Give extension to all development boards’

Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Nitin Raut demanded that extension be given to the Vidarbha Development Board, Marathwada Development Board and Development Board for the Rest of Maharashtra on an urgent basis.

While the five-year extension to these boards, meant for equal distribution of development funds to all regions, ended on April 30, the extension proposal has been put on hold as the MVA government wants to appoint representatives from three parties. The government is also considering separate boards for north Maharashtra and Konkan regions. It is also planning to add the word ‘statutory’ in their names as it was dropped by the previous Fadnavis government.

Congress ministers said that the decision should be taken at the earliest as sentiments of the people from Vidarbha and Marathwada are linked with the boards.