Pune: The implementation of the Ladki Bahin scheme has led to a massive rush in banks impacting operations and leading to quarrels between the staff and customers. People in the banking industry said four issues have cropped including Aadhaar seeding of bank accounts, non-performing assets of beneficiaries, dormant accounts, and deduction of service charges. "Some beneficiaries in rural areas had taken agriculture loans which turned NPAs.
Now, there is an automated system where all accounts of a borrower are blocked if the loan account is marked as NPA," Devidas Tuljapurkar, convener of United Forum of Bank Unions, told TOI. Another problem is the pending service charges on savings accounts if beneficiaries do not transact for longer durations. Instead of the whole payout being reflected in the bank accounts, beneficiaries in many cases, lost a significant amount to service charges.
Several accounts that were opened as Jandhan accounts were later converted to savings accounts, attracting minimum charges. This, coupled with the rush to revive dormant accounts and the completion of know-your-customer norms, led to excessive strain on banks' operations. Explaining these technicalities to account holders who have not transacted in months led to tiffs between the customers and bank employees, Tuljapurkar said.
With an increase in online services, almost all banks reduced employees in their branches. There are not more than three to four employees at a branch who have to attend to .