A war of words erupted between YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders over an alleged scandal in the Guntur District Central Cooperative Bank where preliminary investigations revealed that an amount of ₹10.93 crore was reportedly swindled over the last four years.
The involvement of 17 societies and seven bank branches in the case has also come to light, according to officials. The district administration has written to the Vigilance and Enforcement Department to inquire into the case while the Guntur Urban and Guntur Rural police districts have launched investigations after several criminal cases were filed.
The alleged scandal came to light after secretaries of several societies alleged that some people have availed farm loans after producing fake documents relating to pattadar pass books in connivance with Revenue officials. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused used the original pass books and secured loans using benami names and addresses. The investigation also revealed that an amount of ₹10.93 crore was allegedly swindled.
This led to a series of allegations and counter allegations from both YSRCP and TDP. Former TDP MLA Dhullipalla Narendra alleged that GDCC Bank, R. Seetharamanjaneyulu, and YSRCP MLC Lella Appireddy, were involved in the scam, a charge vehemently denied by the former.
Mr. Ramanjaneyulu alleged that the scandal has been going on since 2018, under the then TDP government, and it was only in 2022 that the scandal came to light. He also alleged that a key follower of Mr. Narendra was involved.
GDCCB is one of the oldest cooperative banks in the State and has been extending crop and term loans to members of primary agricultural cooperative societies at a lower interest rates. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, while appreciating the performance of the banks at many review meetings, had also asked banks to extend loans to SHG members at reduced rates of interest. The Guntur bank’s chairman had said that the business of the bank touched ₹2,500 crore.
In the backdrop of these developments, the latest scandal threatened to mar the farmers’ confidence in the cooperative banking sector and requires urgent remedial measures to restore the trust in the cooperative banking sector.
