In a recent audit report, the Guruvayur Devaswom Board, which manages the Guruvayur Temple in Kerala, has come under the spotlight for investments in cooperative banks. The report reveals investments of around ₹17 lakhs in Perakkam and Erimayur primary cooperative banks, a violation of the board’s own guidelines that specify funds should be invested only in Urban Cooperative and District Cooperative banks.

Who gives permission to Pinarayi Vijayan’s communist government to invest offering from Guruvayurappan's devotees in a Co-operative Society?

That's even in a Co-operative Society that's already accused of loan fraud?

The Guruvayoor Devaswom Board invested a fixed amount of Rs… pic.twitter.com/RaWDOcvA3O

— महारथी-മഹാരഥി (@MahaRathii) October 19, 2023

Notably, the board has also invested a substantial sum of ₹117 crores in a foreign bank based in Singapore, which is not in compliance with its guidelines. The audit report raises questions about this investment and calls for a re-evaluation.

The Guruvayur Devaswom Board, which recently submitted its 2020-21 Audit Report to the High Court, disclosed that the money from two temples under its jurisdiction is deposited with cooperative banks. This revelation comes at a time when cooperative banks in Kerala are facing allegations of fraud and loss of depositors’ money.

The board’s defence for depositing funds in cooperative banks in specific areas, such as Perakkam and Erumayoor, is that no alternative banking options are available in these locations. However, these explanations have not quelled concerns, and a Thiruvananthapuram resident, Dr. Mahendra Kumar, filed a plea with the High Court seeking an inquiry into the fund diversions.

Dr. Mahendra Kumar’s plea also demanded that the Devaswom Board’s money be deposited only in nationalised banks and called for the publication of the audit report. Additionally, the plea sought a survey of land belonging to the Guruvayur Devaswom Board.

The High Court took note of these allegations and ordered the Guruvayur Devaswom Board to provide an affidavit detailing the places where the temple’s funds have been deposited. This development ignited public interest, with many, including the BJP State President, K. Surendran, emphasising the need for transparency and accountability in the management of the temple’s finances.

The concerns surrounding the Guruvayur Temple’s funds stem from reports of alleged financial mismanagement in Kerala’s cooperative banks, further fuelling suspicions that temple funds may have been diverted into such institutions. The Karuvannur Cooperative Bank fraud case has sent shockwaves across Kerala, with Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers making arrests and allegations of a massive financial scandal involving multiple individuals and significant sums.

As investigations unfold, the Guruvayur Devaswom Board faces mounting scrutiny, and the outcome of the High Court’s investigation will shed light on how the Devaswom Board is handling the temple’s considerable wealth.

Subscribe to our channels on Telegram and WhatsApp and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

The post Guruvayur Devaswom Board’s Investments Under Scrutiny For Violation Of Guidelines appeared first on The Commune.

Having passed the two bills related to agriculture sector that led to violent outbursts by the members of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the government also managed to pass the important Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 on Tuesday (22 September). 

The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on September 16.

This bill will now bring the co-operative banks under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for monitoring, due-deligence and supervision.

Speaking at the upper house of the Parliament, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said that many of these co-operative banks had faced crisis amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as reported by the Hindustan Times.

The official handle of the Finance Minister tweeted that “While we acknowledge the important contribution of cooperative banks, it is necessary in the interest of the depositors and banks themselves that we extend some banking laws to the cooperative banking activity.”

While we acknowledge the important contribution of cooperative banks, it is necessary in the interest of the depositors and banks themselves that we extend some banking laws to the cooperative banking activity: Smt @nsitharaman on Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020 in LS pic.twitter.com/Crn4TeSa9P

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) September 16, 2020

The RBI will now monitor their finances and losses and the banks will now be monitored by the central bank like the other scheduled banks.

This supervision by the RBI’s intervention will ensure protection to depositors and ensure less scope for mismanagement. 

In June this year the government had brought in an ordinance to amend the law which was signed by President of India Ram Nath Kovind and now the bill passed by both houses of the parliament stands as a law.

Other bills passed in the Rajya Sabha were: Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020; Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020; Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020; National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020

The amendments to Banking Regulation Act, 1949 will not impact existing powers of the State Registrars of Co-operative Societies under state co-operative laws. It will also not apply to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or co-operative societies.

The post Banking Regulation Amendment Bill passed in Rajya Sabha, Co-operative Banks to be under RBI supervision appeared first on The Commune.