M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, July 19: Beggars in Daltonganj refuse to accept coins worth one rupee denomination or two rupee denominations in their alms.
Beggars who are a permanent fixture at the gate of the places of worship, irrespective of faith, plead with the benevolent not to give them alms in coins of rupee 1 or 2 denomination. Their stock in trade complaint is that local grocers do not accept such low denomination coins.
Lagatar24.com correspondent took a detour of the town and its downtown to speak to the grocers to find out if what the beggars say has any verity or not.
Around a dozen small grocers were asked if they have any reservations about the acceptance of the coins. Some said they have no problem accepting the coins. Some said they would prefer notes to coins. But none said No to the coins perhaps they knew it could land them in trouble.
SBI regional manager Palamu Manoj Kumar Prasad was approached today on phone to know about the fate of small denomination coins.
Manoj said, “All denomination coins are legal tenders. It is as legal, valid and worth as any note.”
The regional manager explained it is a serious offence if anyone dares not to accept it. He alluded to the RBI saying it has mandated that coins are well in use for credit and debit. It can be exchanged or deposited either.
There is a Coinage Bill passed in the year 2011 which protects the right of the coin owner to have his trade and business with the coins.
However, sources said one has to understand the difference between government coins and fashionable coins like that of silver or gold.
The regional manager said an account holder has this facility to deposit coins worth Rs 1,000 value.
However, he made it clear that it should be ‘once in a while’ and not a regular feature of the account holder to stand before the bank counter with 1000 value worth of coins in his bag for the deposit of the same.
The regional manager said in the same vein the banks do have the right to give their customers coins which a customer is not to decline anymore.
Coins are stashed in every branch be it the branch of the nationalised bank or the branch of the regional bank. It occupies space in the vault and the stock of the coins remains as motionless as a stone for months and months.
