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| Who is served by insulating JKB from RTI Act? | | | early times report
Jammu, May 23: The resistance to being declared as a "Public Authority" by the State Information Commission by the J&K Bank Ltd continues even when thousands of bank's customers are asking why keep the bank's doors and windows closed to information.
The latest CAG report has lambasted the J&K Bank Ltd for losing heavily on its lendings by negotiating settlements when there were no pressing legal reasons to do so.
The affairs of the bank, which is the premier financial institution of the state, cannot be kept away from public access for long and if the management of the bank believes it is in the best interests of the institution to keep the organization away from the reach of the RTI Act then there is something serious brewing inside which warrants immediate disclosure.
Even during the last hearing of the Bank's plea the High Court did not feel it necessary to issue an interim direction against the state information commission's directive declaring the bank as a "Public Authority". The High Court instead decided to issue notices to the other side so that positions on the issue become clear before the court.
There are reports that a large number of backdoor appointments have been made in the bank during the last one year because of political influence. If these reports are to be believed then the resistance offered to the RTI Act becomes more understandable. It is in the best interests of the bank that its affairs, both financial and administrative are carried out in the most transparent manner and this can only be done if the public functions as a public authority institutions whose functioning and records can be brought into public domain through resort to the right to information in the state.
It is rather confusing that when it comes to assuming the role of the leading bank in the state the J&K Bank Ltd is the first to seek its position among the nationalized banks in the State, but when it comes to divulging an important piece of information, the bank's management says it is not a public sector bank.
The affairs of the bank are not an affair for only the bank's management. These affairs are matters of interest and concern for not only the depositors, shareholders and the borrowers, but the general public whose lives are touched by the bank whether they are government servants, pensioners, businessmen or roadside vendors.
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