Regional Rural Banks-A Clarification

Regional Rural Banks A Clarification M L Dantwala I HAVE read Bhabatosh Datta's review of the Report of the Review Committee on Regional Rural Banks (September 9) with respect due to as esteemed colleague whose knoowledge and understanding of Indian banking is second to none. I have therefore no hesitation in accepting his criticism that some of "the categorical statements" following the analysis of the working of (only) 12 Regional Rural Banks should have been avoided. But frankly I do not see anything ''wishful" about these statements. The Committee was keenly aware that an evaluation based on the performance of the RRBs which were in operation for periods ranging between six and 20 months is "not adequate for judging the effi- cacy of the system one way or the other". Yet the Committee could not altogether avoid conducting a modest field investigation without inviting another type of criticism. The purpose of the survey was limited primarily to gatting a feel of their working, ascertain the views and the reactions of the personnel engaged in implementing the scheme, problems and frustrations faced by them, the impact they had made on the local population