95 percent Meghalaya households lack bank accounts

SHILLONG - Over 95 percent of households in Meghalaya do not have a bank account, affecting implementation of several of the central government’s flagship welfare programmes, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said here Wednesday.

Many of the central government’s flagship programmes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme and others which are credit-linked have been affected, he said.

“A total of 95.9 percent households do not indulge in banking transactions. Moreover, the credit-deposit (CD) ratio in the state is very low,” Sangma said.

Therefore, he said, in the absence of banking transactions by most of the population in the state, especially the rural poor, implementation of centrally-sponsored schemes has been affected.

Sangma said that he has raised these issues with union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

“I have highlighted Meghalaya’s constraints relating to poor implementation of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government’s flagship programmes before the finance minister and the central government will look into our problems,” said Sangma, who also holds the finance portfolio.