Jan Dhan hits right note - Accounts flush with cash

File picture of a camp to open accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

Manoj Kar, TT, Kendrapara, Nov. 23: Call it the ripple effect of demonetisation, a large number of dormant Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts in nationalised banks are now flush with cash across Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts.

Demonetisation has seemingly given a lease of life to these accounts that were dead since birth. With Jan Dhan account holders making a beeline at bank counters to deposit money and activate the accounts, there has been rapid spurt in the quantum of deposits in many of these zero-balance balance accounts.

While bank personnel acknowledge activation of such dormant accounts in large numbers and the rise in deposits, they remain tight-lipped on reports of huge cash flowing into these accounts.

An official of a nationalised bank, who sought anonymity, confided: "There has been impressive growth in cash deposits in Jan Dhan accounts. We obviously smell foul play. Though a ceiling of Rs 50,000 deposit has been fixed for these accounts, we have come across accounts exceeding the limit. The accounts with excess deposits would cease to be classified under the Jan Dhan category. These would be converted into general savings accounts."

Since the deposits made into these accounts are largely in demonetised high-value currency notes, it has lent credence to the suspicion about unscrupulous elements using the accounts of the poor and the gullible to convert their black money into white. "We are preparing a detailed list of such accounts that had been inactive since the day of operation but have received cash following demonetisation. The list of 'suspicious' accounts would be submitted to the competent authorities," the official said.

"These accounts, which used to constitute less than 1 per cent of the total bank deposits, have increased in volume and now account for 3 to 4 per cent of the total deposits in the past fortnight. Though not all such accounts would be treated as suspicious because Jan Dhan account holders normally store cash at home, those with sudden and sizeable flow of cash might come under scanner," said the official.

Post-demonetisation there have been instances of Jan Dhan accounts being converted into general savings accounts. Some of the account holders have resorted to depositing Rs 49,000, thus circumventing the mandatory requirement of submitting PAN details for deposits of Rs 50,000 and above. The head of a nationalised bank in Paradip said that several deposits of Rs 49,000 had been made in such accounts.

The two districts account for 3.75 lakh Jan Dhan accounts. Among Odisha districts, Kendrapara at 59.5 per cent tops the number of households availing banking facilities. Jagatsinghpur district is second at 58 per cent.

Like the Jan Dhan, the possibility of mini-accounts, which could be opened in any bank without furnishing KYC forms with deposit limit not exceeding Rs 50,000 at any point of time, being misused is not been ruled out. Aggregate of all withdrawals and transfers in a month from such accounts should not exceed Rs 10,000.

The customer service points of the nationalised banks are entrusted with opening mini-accounts. Of late, applications for conversion of these accounts into general savings accounts are being received at these points. Banking sources said that deposit of demonetised notes appears to be the sole cause for upgrading such accounts. Tabs are also being kept on such accounts as the rich and their agents can lure poor people, such as labourers, to park their ill-gotten cash there.

The post offices in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur are also overflowing with cash in savings accounts. Account holders are reactivating their dormant postal accounts, which have seen no monetary transaction in the past three years. Demonetised notes have sneaked into such accounts, said an official of postal department.

On Tuesday, more than 57 deposits worth over Rs 75,000, all in demonetised Rs 1,000 notes, were made in the head post office in Kendrapara.

"An account-holder sought to deposit Rs 97,000 in scrapped Rs 1,000 notes in his postal account. As he failed to furnish his PAN card, we turned him away," said an official of Kendrapara head post office.

Though dubious transactions through Jan Dhan accounts are under scanner, there are those who have managed to resist the lure of adopting wrong means.

"I have an active Jan Dhan account since August last year. The account was zero balance initially, but later I began making periodic deposits from the profits of my betel shop. After the demonetisation of high-value currency notes, I have deposited only one scrapped Rs 500 note in my account. I live in dignity," said a betel shop owner of Kendrapara town, Ananta Charan Pati.