Charging large-scale corruption in the schemes being executed through banks, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asked the top authorities of banks to take the matter seriously and curb corruption.
"Large-scale corruption is being alleged in schemes being executed through banks... the top authorities must take the matter seriously and help curb corruption," Kumar said while addressing the meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC).
Kumar alleged that there were "say of middlemen and commission takers" in the schemes being executed through banks.
"The middlemen in connivance with the bank employees using corrupt means are earning money in Kisan Credit Cards and Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)," he alleged.
The top authorities must take care and be aware of the matters related to corruption by the officials at lower level and take corrective measures, the chief minister said.
He wondered even the accounts holders with the banks failed to know at times what was the amount deposited in their respective accounts for construction of houses under IAY against the allocated amount of Rs 45,000 per house.
Chief Minister also referred to the the Kisan Credit Cards' scam being probed at this stage and said the bank officials should ensure that there should not not be "cheating" in the KCC being issued for farmers.
Kumar said if the level of corruption would increase, it would erode the credibility and dependence on banks by people.
"Corruption at any level is a cancer and people of the country will not tolerate it," he said. He also spoke about the difficulty the Bihar government was facing in roping in banks for the popular cycle distribution scheme, a brain child of his, and said the banks should simplify the complex process.
The banks should also stop discrimination between the high-profile loan takers and common borrowers like farmers, he said adding the banks did not take substantive action against the high-profile borrowers but common borrowers were being misbehaved under the Public demand Recovery Act.
"The law must be equal for all," he opined.
