J&K Bank's governance under question mark? - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

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J&K Bank's governance under question mark?

R. B. Suri

6/15/2019 10:55:28 PM

The Jammu and Kashmir Bank is under cloud these days as it was not functioning as per the norms of the Reserve Bank of India as also under the Banking Regulations Act. More than 60 percent of the equity of the Bank is owned by the State Government and it is a State Partnered concern. Its Non Performing Assets (NPAs) are being increased day by day which is a serious matter indeed. Annual General Body Meetings are held casually and the share holders of the Bank are generally kept in the dark. Their investments in the share equity of the Bank are not safe and seems to be unsecured.The State Government is being deprived of the dividends for the years together. Once its share of Rupees ten had gone up to more than 150 which now has come down to Rs.43 only. In between it had gone below Rs.37 even and in May, it had gone up to Rs.65. The Bank was working very well earlier and now it has started swimming like other PSU Banks across the country resulting which it is at the volcanic stage because of the fact, its affairs are not being managed professionally. The former Chairman of the Bank Parvez Ahmed started functioning Arbitrarily which caused the severe damage to the Bank. Seeing the alarming situation of the Bank the Governor's administration acted promptly in sacking the Chairman of the Bank Parvez Ahmed and in his place R.K. Chibber stands appointed as the Chairman/ CEO of the Bank on June 8. This is the first time in the history of the Bank a Professional Banker from Jammu region has been appointed as the Chairman/CEO of the Bank. RBI too has given its nod. Generally, the people of the state have welcomed the decision of the Governor's administration at this juncture. But the PDP Chief and the former Chief Minister of the state Mehbooba Mufti has criticized the Governor Staya Pal Malik for removing the Chairman of the Bank Parvez Ahmed from this prestigious posts on June 8. Immediately after removing the former Chairman of the Bank Parvez Ahmed from this prestigious posts, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the state raided the HQr. of the Bank at Dalgate, Srinagar and seized the record of the Bank pertaining to the Recruitments of the Clerks, Managers as also POs besides other important documents pertaining to the loans advanced by the Bank to the borrowers mainly the various politicians who remained in power during the last three years. Now a days, the stunning revelations are being made by the Governor's administration almost every day about the mischievous role which was being played by the former Chairman of the Bank Parvez Ahmed in the matter of the mass scale recruitments in the Bank based on the favoritism, nepotism and corruption. By now, the the former Chairman of the Bank Parvez Ahmed ACB must have filed the FIR in any of the Police Stations in Srinagar against him so that he may not go scot free and it has also been learnt that the enquiries and the related investigations are already on against him and the other blu eyed officials of the Bank (culprits) speedily. After having raided the H. Qr. of the J&K Bank, ACB had seized many a important documents pertaining to the mass scale recruitments and about advancing of money to the order of thousands of crores of rupees from the Bank. The Governor's administration is opening the cards one by one in which the former CEO of the Bank Parvez Ahmed is involved. It is also on record that five days after removing Parvez Ahmed from the post, the Chief Secretary of the state BVR Subramaniam had come forward in defending the Governor's action in sacking Parvez Ahmed from the post. He made the revelations that more irregularities are being noticed by the State Government where Parvez Ahmed is involved wholly solly individually. At the same time, he assured the public at large that the bank would be on the rails once again within three months and has expressed that the State Government wishes to see the J&K Bank on sound footings with having a network of its units all over the World in the days to come. Also it is pertinent to mention that the former CEO of the Bank Parvez Ahmed had diverted Rupees 50 crores for the Golf course in the state which is certainly a wasteful expenditure out of the exchequer of the Bank to appease the higher strata of the people - Big politicians and Bureaucrats in the bureaucracy of the state (hardly in 100s) at the cost of the poor masses of the state. The is the sorry state of affairs certainly and is highly condemnable. During the raids conducted by the Income Tax Authorities over the business premises of the Deputy Mayor of SMC Srinagar Sheikh Imran very recently that the Bank had restructured the loan of Rupees more than 177 crores as Rupees 70 crores giving the benefit of more than Rupees 100 crores to Sheikh Imran with the one stroke of the pen of former Chairman/CEO of the Bank Parvez Ahmed. Strange enough indeed.The Deputy Mayor of SMC Srinagar Sheikh Imran, while refuting the charges against him in connection with loans borrowed by his business establishments in Srinagar, has stated that he will face and defend the case as a "MUJAHID". Certainly one thing is there that the coming days are not good for Sheikh Imran and Parvez Ahmed in view of the important documents seized by the ACB and the Income Tax Authorities at Srinagar. It is alleged that since the former Chief Minister of the state Mehbooba Mufti was on his back, Parvez Ahmed had crossed all the limits of the favoritism, nepotism and corruption resulting which he became proudy soul on this earth. Pride hath a fall always. He met with the same fate as he has been sacked by the strong Governor Satya Pal Malik. The former Chairman of the Bank Parvez Ahmed has committed number of the grave irregularities in the capacity of the CEO of the Bank with regard to the mass scale recruitments in the Bank inviting huge burden on the Bank as the Administrative cost which was not permissible under the rules as also gave his nod for advancing of crores of rupees to the people having the political background at the behest of the Chief Minister of the state. Ot was totally unfortunate on his part as the CEO of the Bank. These people, it is alleged that they were belonging to the PDP and the BJP who ruled the state for three years since 2015. Majority of the employees who were recruited by the Bank during his tenure as the CEO of the Bank were his kith and kins and the wards of the PDP and BJP leaders of the state. It is also alleged that he must have amazed the huge money by committing the grave irregularities in the Bank. Leaving all other negative aspects of the bank aside, it is worth mentioning over here that the depositors, businessmen, employees and pensioners of the State Government are availing of the banking facilities with the prompt, efficient and effective services from the employees of the Bank in the state and across the country as well as compared to the services being rendered by the PSU Banks and SBI. The employees, pensioners and the trading community get the loan facilities for the car purchase, construction of houses, trade and other consumption loans besides the cash credit limits from the Bank easily. The depositors, businessmen, employees and pensioners of the State Government have the full confidence over the Bank. In Jammu city, a wide network of units of the Bank are operating at the moment from where they are getting the services of the Bank with smile indeed. Pertinent to mention that the dealing of the staff of the Bank with the employees and pensioners of the State Government is really exemplary as they always come to their rescue in solving their grievances and problems immediately. The staff of the Bank (particularly the female employees) in the units of Trikuta Nagar, Chhani Himmat, Chowk Chabutra, Gandhi Nagar, Talab Tillo, Jewel Chowk, Residency Road etc. is very cooperative and helpful to the employees, pensioners and the trading community as well. Trikuta Nagar unit of the bank headed by the Manager Dheeraj Sharma is extending the best services to its valuable customers which include the employees, pensioners and the trading community as well. The employees and the pensioners of the State Government have kept crores of their savings into this unit and are availing of the banking facilities from this unit of the Bank. I along with my wife happen to visit the branch four days back and had the interactions with the Manager Dheeraj Sharma in connection with some banking work pertaining to my wife. Dheeraj Sharma listened us politely and acted very promptly in cinching the issue involved in the right earnest for which my wife expressed her thanks to Dheeraj Sharma. Seeing the working of the Manager Sharma, we were really impressed a lot. Rest other city branches of the Bank are working well and are serving the people efficiently. The employees and the pensioners of the State Government are benefitted much in drawing their salaries and the pensions from the J&K up to their great satisfaction Bank as they were facing the lot of difficulties in the past while dealing with the Govt. Treasury officials in this regard. The Treasury officials were exploiting them allegedly for fetching money under hand means. It was a very good step of the State Government for handing over the task of the disbursement of the salaries and the pensions to employees and the pensioners of the State Government to the J&K Bank. The employees and the pensioners of the State Government got benefitted from this act of the State Government. While dealing with the Bank, they are getting the benefits of the digitalization and computerization in connection with the money transfers and other Banking works.

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