3 min readPuneNov 4, 2026 10:14 PM ISTMunicipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said Cosmos Cooperative Bank approached the Pune civic body requesting to park its fund in the bank on which it would provide 95 percent of the amount as loan to the civic body. (File photo)The Pune civic body’s decision to take a loan for raising funds for land acquisition for mega road projects through overdraft by putting Rs 500 crore of its funds in Fixed Deposit (FD) of Cosmos Cooperative Bank has drawn criticism from opposition parties.The Congress has opposed the move, saying it suspected it was being done under pressure from the BJP or RSS for the benefit of a cooperative bank.“The standing committee has approved the civic administration proposal to put Rs 500 crore in FD in Cosmos Cooperative Bank and seek 95 percent loan against the FD amount through overdraft,” said Shrinath Bhimale, chairperson of standing committee.Municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said Cosmos Cooperative Bank approached the Pune civic body requesting to park its fund in the bank on which it would provide 95 percent of the amount as loan to the civic body. He said the Pune civic body has been depositing its money in nationalised banks, HDFC as well as ICICI, which are in the list of domestic systemically important banks declared by RBI.“There was a meeting with the district collector for implementation of the HCMTR and Inner Ring Road project. The Pune civic body needs to deposit Rs 500 crore with the district administration for acquiring land for the projects. Accordingly, as an exceptional case, it plans to park its money in FD in Cosmos Cooperative Bank and seek a loan of 95 percent through overdraft,” said Ram.Cosmos Cooperative Bank stated that it will offer an attractive interest rate of 7.40 per cent for 16 months with quarterly payout of interest, along with overdraft facility of 95 percent of the deposit amount at an applicable interest rate of 7.70 per cent per annum.Congress corporator Arvind Shinde said the bank is a scheduled cooperative bank but there are many other eligible banks in Pune. Also, there is a leading Pune district cooperative bank and other banks giving competitive interest rates but their proposal for the loan was not sought by the Pune civic body. “The Pune civic body move raises suspicion over its lack of transparency by selecting a specific bank without implementing competition of banks for the purpose,” he said.Story continues below this ad“The selection of Cosmos Cooperative Bank for the loan through overdraft on FD of Rs 500 crore raises suspicion whether there was pressure from RSS or any political leader or person with vested interests,” he said.Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, Pune. With over 22 years of experience in ... Read More Tags:pune