Demonetization: Govt forms committee to visit states, UTs to report impact

Government on Monday said it has formed committees of senior officials to visit states and Union Territories and report status of implementation of its decision pertaining to demonetization.

"Government has decided to constitute teams of additional secretaries/joint secretaries/directors -- with each team consisting of up to two-three officers for each state/UT to visit the states/UTs and report back to the government on status of implementation of... cancellation of the legal tender character of high denomination bank notes...," the finance ministry said in a statement.

These teams will visit the states allocated to them for at least 2 days and will assess status of the implementation. Each of the officers will visit different areas of the state or UT separately, it added. The focus may be on rural areas, it stressed. The teams will also consider issues related to currency availability across the state in the network of bank branches, ATMs and post offices for deposit/withdrawal/exchange of currency, status of calibration of ATMs to dispense Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes and impact of the decision on various segments and sectors such as households, agriculturists, wage earners, traders, transportation, industries, informal sectors, small business and the like.

The team will submit a report on the above points, the general outlook and challenges arising out of implementation of the scheme, it added.