Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday came down heavily on the banks for their lackadaisical attitude in disbursing loans to the needy.

Addressing a state-level bankers’ committee meet in Patna, Nitish said the nationalised banks often do not disburse loans to persons or self-help groups with a pre-conceived mindset that the loan amount would not be returned.

Nitish expressed concern over the prevalence of non-transparency in the banking system. “It concerns me that there is a lack of transparency in the banking system. Problems exist at the lower level of bureaucracy in the banks. Senior officials need to address the grievances at any cost. Bank officials need to concentrate on micro management to achieve the desired results for everyone — the people as well as a government,” Nitish said.

Recalling his experiences during the ongoing Seva Yatra, Nitish said: “People engaged lac bangle manufacture in Muzaffarpur told me how banks did not give them loans. In another incident, banks charged interest on Rs 2.5 lakh from a self-help group in Kaimur, where the bank was supposed to charge interest on only Rs 1.25 lakh as the rest of the amount is given by the state government as subsidy. These things need to be addressed.”

Bihar Ground Water Irrigation Scheme is another scheme in which banks are not showing any interest despite the fact that the scheme was formulated in association with the Planning Commission and banks, Nitish said.

Nitish added that the state government decided to give cash to buy bicycles after it came to light that there were problems in opening bank accounts. He prescribed the bank officials to bring the banking service under the purview of Citizens’ Charter on the lines of the state government’s Right to Public Service Act, fixing a time-frame for getting the works done, failing which officials would be punished for their misconduct.

Nitish suggested top bank officials to go and listen to the common man.