Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) The newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal plans to address long-pending demands of bankers’ representatives for administrative support in recovering unpaid loans, particularly from wilful defaulters.

At the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meetings — which include representatives from both banks and the state government — both sides have raised recurring concerns. While state officials have urged banks to improve the credit-deposit (CD) ratio to align with the national average, bankers have consistently complained about inadequate administrative backing in loan recovery.

According to a senior official at the Nabanna secretariat, the lack of administrative support has often left recovery agents vulnerable to harassment and even physical intimidation by defaulters and their associates, sometimes with alleged local political backing.

“The new government aims to foster a more cooperative environment in SLBC meetings. While encouraging banks to improve the CD ratio, it will also ensure administrative assistance so that recovery personnel can function without fear,” an official of the state secretariat said.

Currently, the credit-to-deposit ratio in West Bengal stands at just around 71, significantly lower than the national average of 82.

Another thing that the new state government has decided to focus on is to work with the banks to expand the sphere of loans to members of backward classes, including people from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes (OBC) backgrounds, who have continued having limited access to institutional loans.

As per SLBC’s own statistics, during the financial year 2025-26, on average, only six to seven per cent of the total institutional loans granted in the state were to socially backward class people.

During the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections, BJP candidates won in constituencies with scheduled castes or scheduled tribes as the majority voters. In fact, Trinamool Congress could not win even a single tribal-dominated assembly constituency in the state.

So, in view of the spectacular results in such constituencies, the new government’s focus is on the development of socially backward communities and expanding the scope for institutional loan access for them is a part of the bigger plan.

–IANS

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