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Mass Jan Dhan account withdrawals show corruption still winning

  • Total deposits, 45 days after demonetisation stand at ₹87,000 crore
  • Jan Dhan accounts witnessed net withdrawal of ₹3,285 crore in the last fortnight
  • This is despite there being an upper withdrawal limit was fixed at ₹10,000 per month
Mass Jan Dhan account withdrawals show corruption still winning

 

A recent report in PTI highlights some conflicting findings. Jan Dhan accounts witnessed net withdrawal of ₹3,285 crore in the last fortnight after a huge surge in deposits post demonetisation in November. Total deposits, 45 days after demonetisation stand at ₹87,000 crore.

 

In fact,₹71,037 crore is where it stood on December 28, two days ahead of the close of demonetisation exercise. The deposits were previously pegged at ₹74,610 on December 7; now one can notice the swift decline in deposits in this period. This is despite there being an upper withdrawal limit was fixed at ₹10,000 per month. The upper limit for deposits in Jan Dhan account is ₹50,000.

 

Also read:  Whopping: ₹21,000-crore deposited in Jan Dhan accounts

 

 

When news of Jan Dhan accounts being misused gained traction, account holders were warned that they will be prosecuted under the I-T Act for allowing misuse of their bank accounts through deposit of black money in ₹500/1,000 notes during the 50-day window till December 30.

 

The Jan Dhan account also promised the facility of overdraft an overdraft facility upto ₹5000 after satisfactory operation in the account for 6 months. Listed as an achievement of the Jan Dhan Yojna as of December 21, 2016 is that  26.03 crore accounts have been opened under PMJDY out of which 15.86 crore accounts are in rural areas and 10.17 crore in urban areas. Under this again as on December 23, 2016, 44.28 lakh accounts have been sanctioned OD facility of which 23.85 lakh account-holders have availed this facility involving an amount of ₹316.56 crore.

 

Also read:Demonetisation reveals India's most corrupt city, find out which

 

All this suspicious withdrawal and deposit from the Jan Dhan accounts reflect how our fears have come true. When demonetisation was announced, there were a lot of dormant Jan Dhan accounts, some with zero balance in them and yet within the first week, some of these were flush with cash.

 

Later on it was revealed how unscrupulous elements were using this as a safe haven to park their money. Some of the people were even taking a commission to put this money into their accounts. And some even found money mysteriously deposited in their names and then withdrawn at a later date.

 

Also read: ₹100 cr in account, this woman is under shock!

 

Also remember the Branch managers may allow further withdrawals beyond ₹10,000 a month within the current applicable limits only after ascertaining the genuineness of such withdrawals and duly documenting the same on bank’s record. Now as instances have proved, some bankers cannot be trusted, you can as well imagine how these accounts were opened.

 

The maximum number of deposits into Jan Dhan accounts were made in West Bengal and Karnataka, with Delhi topping the list among urban centres.

 

Interestingly, the Income Tax department has been vigilant is monitoring this rise and fall and swelling of the Jan Dhan accounts. So we can now expect a lot of skeletons (currency) tumbling out of many deposits.

 

Also read: Jan-Dhan accounts strangling the poor

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