About 1 lakh 55 thousand new accounts were opened in the state after the launch of the scheme.
Despite logistical difficulties, including hilly terrain, bank officials in Meghalaya have achieved what they are calling a hundred per cent success rate in opening bank accounts under the Jan Dhan scheme, a project spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Over five lakh households in Meghalaya's 11 districts, now have Jan Dhan bank accounts, according to banks in the state. About 1 lakh 55 thousand new accounts were opened, according to date from the State Bank of India, the lead bank in Meghalaya, while the other accounts were linked to the scheme.
54-year-old Bernadeth, her husband and three children, were among the first households to get a bank account under the Jan Dhan scheme, in the Umrang Village in the state's Ri-bhoi district. The couple works as daily wage labourers.
"I opened this Jan Dhan account six month back. This account is helping me and my family a lot. Every month I am depositing Rs 300 to 400 in this," says Bernadeth.
Workers at the state bank of India branch in Ri-Bhoi district covered over 140 villages in the last few months and got over 2500 bank accounts opened or linked to the Jan Dhan scheme.
"We took liberal help from village heads and they helped us to convince people. We already had many accounts even without the Jan Dhan scheme," said Sandeep Bhattacharya, Branch Manager.
But not everyone in the state is convinced, particularly the Congress government in Meghalaya. P Tynsong a minister in the Meghalaya government, said, "Yes in the rural areas few people have started using these accounts, but this 100 per cent thing, on the ground, it is not true."
The minister may have a point. We met an auto driver in Umsining, for instance, who said he had no idea of the scheme. It is possible someone in his extended family may have an account, but irrespective of the technicalities, the real challenge for Meghalaya will be to get all these households to operate these accounts regularly, and manage savings.