According to bank officials, the three-pronged turnaround plan has to be submitted within 30 days, before April 30, 2001.

The plan is aimed at turning around the bank back to its former strength. The bank has recently been facing rough weather. A year back, it had been debarred from accepting deposits from the public following alleged malfunctioning of bank directors of the previous management. The bank has appointed a new board of directors since November 19, 2000, which is seriously planning the rehabilitation,officials said. Measures suggested by the RBI include bringing down non-performing assets from 60 per cent to 40 per cent, cutting down on expenditure in terms of staff strength, and raising the capital base from the existing level of Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore. According to official sources, if the bank fails to fulfil the prescribed criteria within the stipulated time, it has to be liquidated in order to pay depositors back. According to reliable sources, depositors are already facing problems in getting their money back.

However, bank officials denied any such problems. Meanwhile, bank officials are planning to approach the RBI for extension of the time limit to adhere to the prescribed limits. According to them, when the bank has been debarred from accepting deposits, its lending capacity has also gone down. In such a situation, raising the capital by Rs 40 lakh is a difficult proposition.

The bank has already initiated talks with other cooperative banks and registered cooperative societies for assistance in raising funds.