KYC (know your customer) formalities at banks are depriving poor pensioners and government schemes beneficiaries of their own money, reveals a survey by local NREGA Sahayata Kendra in at least two districts of Jharkhand.

Social economist Jean Dreze, who was part of the survey in the Latehar and Lohardaga districts of Jharkhand, citing the survey informed that countless people in the districts are unable to withdraw money from their bank accounts as their accounts have been frozen until they complete “KYC” formalities.

NREGA Sahayata Kendras (help centres) help MGNREGA workers in filing applications and complaints with the district administration and facilitate in securing their legal entitlements.

“The victims of this mass freezing of bank accounts include elderly pensioners who depend on their meagre pensions, children who receive scholarships, and women entitled to ₹1,000 per month under Jharkhand’s new Maiya Samman Yojana,” claimed Dreze.

According to the survey reports poor people find it difficult to complete the KYC formalities.

“They require biometric verification of Aadhaar number at a Pragya Kendra, taking the verification certificate to the bank, filling a form there, and submitting both with the requisite documents. After that, the customer is at the mercy of the bank for timely reactivation of the account. This can take months,” said a member of the sahayatra Kendra.

“Overcrowding in rural banks is making things worse. In both survey areas, there were long queues at the local banks. The crowds consist largely of people trying to complete KYC, or women who are looking for their Maiya Samman Yojana (a Jharkhand government financial assistance scheme for women between 18 and 50 years) money,” added the member.

The survey teams went from door to door in three small villages of Manika block in Latehar and four villages of Bhandra and Senha blocks in Lohardaga.

“In these 7 villages, 60 per cent of the 244 households we were able to meet had at least one frozen bank account. In some households, all accounts were frozen,” claimed Dreze.

Survey also reveals that several people have repeatedly applied for KYC without success.