: The State committee of the CPI(M) on Thursday said that the RBI should withdraw its November 14 notification that barred district central cooperative banks from exchanging old banknotes of Rs. 500 and 1,000 denominations.
In a statement released a day after the Tamil Nadu government said that the move had affected the primary agricultural co-operative credit societies, CPI (M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan said that the ban had brought the agricultural sector to a standstill.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said that the 23 district central cooperative banks, which have a total of 813 branches, are RBI-approved and yet have been adversely affected. He added that farmers are now unable to repay their loans, and fertiliser and seed stocks are lying undistributed at the State’s 4,474 agricultural co-operative credit societies.
He said that the life of a total of 80 lakh people who are members of various co-operative societies, including those relating to fishermen and weavers, have been affected.
