Haryana Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati on Monday said that banks has to contribute a lot to the state government's efforts to make the system of E    lectronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) through banks a success so that beneficiaries get pensions timely.

Gulati was presiding over a review meeting with the representatives of banks engaged in implementation of EBT system. The enrolment, creation of bank accounts, operations of Customer Service Points, actual disbursement and setting up of grievances redressal machinery were reviewed in the meeting. Representatives of ICICI, Axis Bank, Union Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, HDFC, Cooperation and State Bank of India were present in the meeting.

She said that 21 lakh people were beneficiaries of various social pension schemes of the state government. The EBT system had replaced the earlier system of disbursement of pensions by Panchayti Raj Institutions (PRIs) of the respective villages.

She said that disbursements were never an issue, so was the funds and the schemes were immensely popular with the people. The earlier system was perfectly in place but the Government took a step forward and for the convenience of the beneficiaries in the long term, it introduced EBT system, she added.

She said that she was personally monitoring the new disbursement system and the ownership had been given to the deputy commissioners of their respective districts. She said that it was the teething problems as EBT was a new concept being implemented in the state. She was sure that from now onwards the beneficiaries would be getting pension timely and conveniently.

The Chief Secretary urged banks to employ persons such as farmers, ex-servicemen and shopkeepers as Business Correspondents (BCs) from the concerned village or cluster of villages for which they were made responsible for disbursements.