Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, September 26
The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday allowed account holders of the troubled Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank to withdraw up to Rs 10,000 from their accounts over the next six months.
The central bank had set a limit of Rs 1,000 earlier.
Following the relaxation more than 60 per cent of the bank’s depositors would be able to withdraw their entire account balance, RBI said. “....the central bank has decided to allow the depositors to withdraw a sum not exceeding Rs 10,000 (including Rs 1,000 wherever already withdrawn) of the total balance held in every savings bank account or current account or any other deposit account by whatever name called, subject to conditions stipulated in the RBI Directive dated 23 September 2019,” RBI said in its release.
The central bank said the above relaxation has been granted with a view to reducing the hardship of the depositors.
BJP link embarrasses Fadnavis
Meanwhile, the near collapse of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-op Bank has come as a major embarrassment to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who is said to be close to officials of the troubled bank.
According to party sources here, Fadnavis was keen on fielding Rajneet Singh, a director of the PMC Co-operative Bank. Rajneet is the son of veteran BJP leader Sardar Tara Singh. The bank was originally started by Sardar Partap Singh - father of Tara Singh - shortly after the family came to India after partition, the BJP MLA told reporters here.
The bank helped consolidate the clout of the Singh family among Mumbai’s Sikh community.
Since the RBI imposed restrictions on withdrawal of funds by depositors, Tara Singh and his son have been struggling to pacify irate depositors. “I am sure everyone will get their money back,” Tara Singh told reporters here today.
On the other hand, Rajneet said he and other members of the board had nothing to do with the bank’s troubles. He has been quoted as saying that officials at the branch level were responsible for lending money to various companies. Most of those who entrusted their money appear to be small and medium businessmen like transporters, housewives and even domestic workers.
According to customers protesting outside some of the bank’s 137 branches, they had deposited their hard-earned money because at the bank because it was more consumer-friendly than its competitors. “The bank used to work even on Sundays and public holidays and the staff was always friendly,” says Balwinder Kaur, a depositor with its Sion branch where it originally began operations.
Despite a strong police presence, depositors were seen cursing PMC Bank chairman Waryam Singh after reports emerged that he was on the board of directors of the troubled Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) and its associate company, HDIL. According to reports PMC Bank may have lent as much as Rs 2,500 crore, out of a total loan book of Rs 8,000 crores, to HDIL which is undergoing insolvency process.
According to PMC Bank officials, deposits and interest upto Rs 1 lakh have been covered under by the depositor’s insurance.
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said he was taking a delegation of depositors to the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police to file a criminal complaint of cheating against the office-bearers of the bank and HDIL.
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who was denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections at the behest of the Shiv Sena earlier this year, wrote a letter to the Reserve Bank of India demanding that it file criminal cases against PMC Bank officials.
Incidentally, Somaiya’s son Neil is a contender for the ticket from Mulund assembly segment presently represented by Sardar Tara Singh.
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