HPM Sheikh Hasina launches Palli Sanchay Bank

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated 100 branches of the bank through video conference from her Gonobhaban residence on Wednesday.

Inaugurating the branches, the Prime Minister said the main objective of foundation of the bank was to save poor people from the grill of so-called 'micro credit' which never help people to come out of poverty trap.

The bank will encourage people in savings and investment, making role in alleviating poverty and boosting rural economy, she hoped.

Palli Sanchay Bank has been created converting the "One House, One Farm Project" (Ekti Bari Ekti Khamar) taken by Department of Rural Development and Cooperative in 2009 for five years with a vision to make every rural house into a agricultural farm using country's rich biodiversity and ecosystem.

Under the project 2.2 million people, mostly rural poor and underprivileged, were organized under 40,214 samity (association) to encourage them in environment friendly dairy and poultry farming, horticulture, exchange of ideas, knowledge and technologies, cooperative marketing and savings of earnings.

At the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Palli Sanchay Bank has been constituted aimed at continuation of the activities of the "One House, One Farm Project" and savings mentality among the people of those cooperatives.

The parliament enacted the Palli Sanchay Bank Act in July last year aimed at facilitating poor and underprivileged section of rural people for savings, processing transaction and maintenance of their money, giving loan and advance as well as creating opportunities for investment.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and LGRD and Cooperatives minister Engineer Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain also spoke on the occasion.

Acting secretary of Rural Development and Cooperative Division Dr Prashanta Kumar Roy gave presentation on the process of transition of the "One House, One Farm Project" to Palli Sanchay Bank while Secretary of the Banking and Financial Institutions Yunusur Rahman gave welcome address.

Mayors of Dhaka Anisul Haq and Sayeed Khokan, PM's Advisors HT Imam and Dr Moshiur Rahman, former ministers Dr Dipu Moni and Advocate Rahmat Ali, Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazley Kabir, PM's Principal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad and Chairman of the bank Mihir Kanti Majumder were present.

After the inauguration of the branches the Prime Minister exchanged views with the beneficiaries of bank's Tungipara, Faridpur Sadar and Sylhet Sadar branches.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the Palli Sanchay Bank represents her vision to free rural people from endless miseries caused by abject poverty in their life which prevented them from access to food, clothes, education and shelter.

"I have extensively visited villages and remote areas of the country and saw myself abject poverty, which led me to make a way to rescue them from the poverty trap," she said.

Many thoughts of Bangabandhu helped her in making many poverty alleviation programme including the 'One House, One Farm' project, she said describing the initiation of a pilot project in Sripur of Gazipur district during her office in 1996-2001 tenure.

Laying importance on bringing every inch of land of beneficiaries of the project under cultivation the Prime Minister said the farmers can also use the land which usually remain uncultivated as their owners live abroad for long time.

"Not a single inch of land should remain fallow," she said adding every piece of land should be utilized for economic purposes. In this regard, the Prime Minister suggested development of a method for cultivation of the land of the absentee owners by farmers on the basis of share cropping.

Sheikh Hasina also laid importance on involving more females with the bank to expedite the poverty alleviation drive. She said the government has introduced different kinds of allowances for poor to reduce their poverty. But, the poor should not become fully dependent on only allowances to live on.

"Extreme poor should get allowance only for food. One must use self ability to change economic constraint," the Prime Minister said.

Criticizing the system of giving microcredit as a toll of poverty alleviation, the Prime Minister said microcredit cannot free a person from poverty as credit keeps him/her always busy with payment of interest of the loan barring one from finding a scope for permanent employment.

"Lending institutions, not marginal people, are benefitted from microcredit," Sheikh Hasina said adding many microcredit receivers became completely penniless and even committed suicide failing to pay the installment of the loan and interest.

"This experience motivated us to take the 'One House, One Farm Project," the Prime Minister said adding that it aimed at encouraging a farmer to bring every inch of his house under cultivation and utilize working ability.

Sheikh Hasina extended her thanks to everybody linked with the foundation of the bank saying the bank will encourage rural people in savings and create employment opportunity.