The Northlines: Jammu Tawi: Monday, March 12, 2018.
Alleging
politicization of J&K Bank and its abuse by the rulers for furtherance of
their political and economic interests, Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and
Former Minister lambasted the State’s largest financial institution for acting
as a tool in the hands of corrupt politicians besides indulging in massive
frauds and irregularities. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Addressing the media, Harsh Dev Singh said that during the past three years
several thousands of backdoor appointments had
been made in
the various branches of J&K Bank without notifying advertisements for the
posts or following the formal recruitment process. He said that there were
reports that several candidates were illegally doled jobs in the said bank on
the recommendations of the MLAs and Ministers of the ruling clique at the cost
of meritorious and deserving candidates who were covertly divested of the
opportunity to compete.
Questioning
the credibility of J&K Bank, Harsh Dev Singh divulged that earlier on several
occasions the said bank had denied supplying the information to the applicants
under J&K RTI Act 2009 on the ground that the bank was not a ‘Public
Authority’. He said that despite the State government having 59% stakes in the
bank equity, it had never been accountable and transparent to the public. The
definition of ‘Public Authority’ in Section 2 (f) of J&K RTI Act 2009
included Government institutions, Semi government organizations or Public
Sector Undertakings (PSU’s) and even private educational institutions and Non
Government Organizations (NGO’s) if they were substantially financed by the
Government, Harsh said. Asserting that with all state govt employees made to
operate through J&K Bank and the huge sums deposited by them in the said bank,
it was doing business worth billions every year.
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