In the wake of recent bank robberies in the city, cooperation minister Sellur K. Raju on Monday announced that surveillance cameras would be installed in Tamil Nadu State Apex Cooperative Bank (TNSACB), District Central Cooperative Banks and Urban Cooperative Banks.
Replying to the demand for grants for cooperative department, Mr Raju said that the cameras would be installed this fiscal year at the cost of Rs 3.10 crore.
The minister also announced that Rs 8.80 crore would be spent for implementing core bank solutions in 23 district central cooperative banks in the state.
“The core banking solutions software is being implemented in the TNSACB, which has helped in serving its affiliated and customers more efficiently,” the minister said.
The minister said in a bid to improve the customer service on par with the commercial banks, 100 branches of central cooperative banks and urban cooperative banks would be modernised at the cost of Rs 15 crore.
Considering the expansion of Chennai and Coimbatore corporation limits, he said 10 Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies located in the suburban areas would be upgraded into urban credit societies.
For the first time, the minister claimed that the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies exceeded the annual target set for disbursing crop loans.
“During 2011-12, crop loan was disbursed to 8.99 lakh farmers to a tune of Rs 3,280.42 crore as against a target of Rs 3,000 crore,” the minister said, adding that this fiscal year, the government has fixed the loan target of Rs 4,000 crore.