Over a month ago I noticed a write-up in one
of the Goan dailies saying Reserve Bank
of India withdrew the banking License of Mapusa Urban Cooperative Bank and
further asking the MUCB to stop conducting all banking business.
The news further said that confirming this,
the former Bank Chairman Ramakant
Khalap has said “yes they have withdrawn
the Banking License and their (Khalaps) first demand which is still pending
with RBI is to allow the depositors to withdraw their money”. Further Khalap said
“we have enough funds and if they allow
at least Rs one lakh per depositor, then 95% will get back their money.
Now, if Khalap thinks so, then why he is
doing nothing to put pressure legally or any otherway on RBI to allow the
depositors to withdraw their money? If
Khalap was also suffering the way many of the depositors of MUCB are suffering
then Khalap would scream by even bringing demonstrators on the streets of
Mapusa to impose pressure on the RBI to come out with solution. These Khalaps and their subordinates earlier
were begging with the people to open accounts and deposit something in MUCB and
now they have forgotten their earlier days.
Then said Khalap, there are 1,11,000 depositors and the Bank has Rs 353 crores as deposit plus an asset of worth
around Rs 150 crores and all the depositors are insured to the tune of Rs 5 lakh each. Hence, why the depositors
are put into inconvenience when they have their money legally deposited? Due to the current situation of Corona Virus Lockdown, the money
power into the hands of people including many depositors of MUCB become less requiring
urgent withdrawal of their deposits from the MUCB. It is the
responsibility of Khalap and others like him to put in their maximum
efforts to solve this problem and to return the depositors money back to them.
Again now, if Mr. Khalap your bank has in its kitty so many crores then
what stops it from disbursing? Why the Bank cannot start returning the
depositors money back to them especially now when the same money is requird
more and for more better utility? Why RBI is ignoring the requests of MUCB to
disburse the amount to the depositors?
Was the infringement committed by this bank warrant such a Severe reprimanding and what was it? Can't the depositors know what it is? I think it is the obligation of the Bank to
divulge the fact and figures of the mistake that MUCB has committed and for
which the Bank has been punished by RBI.
However harsh the punishment of
RBI may be but its responsibility cannot be passed on to the depositors who are
In no way guilty of the disastrous mistake the Board must have committed. The Board was paid handsomely I feel and yet
they ate like Ladru and Pedru? They
should be punished sternly if they are mistaken but because of their mistake
innocent depositors should never be castigated. Is Reserve Bank of India gone
insane to know the problems the depositors are facing? Is it its pleasure to see the depositors of
MUCB suffer? If RBI had to be more vigilant in the beginning only, they could arrest the fallacious act they
committed in which case the situation would not have come to this grave degree for which the poor depositors
are suffering when they are fully innocent.
All the earlier stalwarts of this Bank who
constituted the Board of directors must as responsible people own this
responsibility because it is they who frame the policy of their bank to manage
it smoothly, depositors are not
responsible for the mistakes done by the top management for which the RBI castigated
the MUCB. The depositors are asking nothing
but only their deposits and how to give them back their deposits is the
responsibility of the management of MUCB.
When they wanted depositors the Bank
officers and others were coming on their knees for begging to open an account with their Bank but now they don’t even care
for us, said one depositor.
A.Veronica Fernandes.
