Date:03/03/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/03/03/stories/2004030300961000.htm

Back As part of community service initiatives
SBI set to adopt a village in Maharashtra

Our Bureau

Mumbai , March 2

JALKE, the dusty little village tucked away in the heart of rural Maharashtra in the district of Jalgaon, is about to have its fortunes turned with help from the country's biggest bank, the State Bank of India.

Jalke with a population of 800 will soon be adopted by SBI as the first step towards the bank's endeavour of transforming it into a `model village.'

This is a first of its kind initiative for the bank and is purely a non-commercial venture, according to SBI officials.

SBI will invest about Rs 50 lakh initially, to set up power, water supply and other facilities for the villagers.

The project is part of the bank's community service initiatives and the idea is to improve the living conditions of the villagers and go beyond playing the role of being a mere banker, according to Mr Ramesh Kumar, Chief General Manager, Commercial Banking, Mumbai Circle, State Bank of India,

"After examining the way's in which the bank can improve the quality of life in this village, the immediate goals are to provide water and electricity to this area. For this, we propose to install a composite wind-mill along with solar energy and borewells shortly," he said.

The bank will get the villagers involved in the project, so that not only can it save on manpower costs, but also that once the facilities are installed; maintenance of the equipment will not be a problem.

SBI officials said, at present, the village's water levels are at around 200-250 feet below the ground. Once the electricity supply is established, it will greatly aid in bringing up the water with the help of bore-pumps.

Apart from this, the bank will teach the villagers the techniques of rainwater harvesting by using simple bunds to store water from nearby canals.

"Once the rains set in, the up current water will be stored and can be used by villagers, while the water that seeps out will fill the bunds," said an SBI official.

Since a large portion of the population is unemployed, SBI will invest in vermiculture compost projects.

The bank will buy raw materials for the villagers and provide training to them in order to help them get started.

Meanwhile, the gram panchayat is also trying to get some subsidies for this project and has approached the government, officials said.