Maharashtra Cabinet Approves MDCCB to Manage Salary Accounts for Government Employees

Mumbai, Jan 2 (NationPress) The Maharashtra Cabinet, under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, approved the Mumbai District Central Co-operative Bank (MDCCB), which is led by BJP MLC Pravin Darekar, to initiate salary accounts for government employees. Additionally, the bank is authorized to accept surplus investments from government entities such as the City and Industrial Development Corporation, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, and Slum Rehabilitation Authority.

In October 2023, the state government had granted similar permissions to 14 district central cooperative banks (DCCBs), stipulating that these banks maintain an 'A' class in annual audits for five consecutive years and a credit reserve ratio of nine percent.

At that time, the MDCCB did not meet these criteria, having received a 'B' class rating in one audit year, and its credit reserve ratio had fallen below the required nine percent.

Darekar serves as the bank's chairman.

Beyond just salary accounts, the mentioned government corporations can now deposit their excess funds in the MDCCB.

In March 2020, the Maharashtra government mandated that all departments open salary and pension accounts exclusively in nationalized banks.

However, in August and later in November of 2020, this decision was amended to include cooperative sector banks for these transactions.

The list of eligible cooperative banks is revised annually based on their audit results and credit reserve ratio.

The 14 district central cooperative banks sanctioned in October 2023 include Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Latur, Akola, Bhandara, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli.

The MDCCB was added to this list as a special case during the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

An official from the Finance department stated, "It was a minor technical issue that has been resolved, and the proposal for the Mumbai bank was awaiting cabinet approval. Today, it was presented and approved."

Darekar expressed gratitude, stating, "I appreciate the government's trust in our bank. We are back to being 'A' grade, and with the faith shown by the government, we will keep up our good work."

Under the previous administration, the Darekar-led MDCCB was awarded a 2,566.57 square-meter MHADA plot located in the prime Sion area of South Central Mumbai.

This plot was leased to the Mumbai District Central Co-operative Bank, despite unfavorable reviews from the Finance department.