The J&K Bank has been brought under the purview of the RTI Act, CVC guidelines and the state legislature.
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP said state Governor Satya Pal Malik's decision to treat the J&K Bank as a public sector undertaking will go a long way in ensuring transparency and dealing with public money.
The Jammu and Kashmir Bank was on Friday brought under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) guidelines and the state legislature, an official said. The State Administrative Council (SAC), which met here Thursday under the chairmanship of Malik, approved the proposal for treating the J&K Bank Limited as a public sector undertaking, the official said.
The SAC approved that the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009 shall be applicable to the bank like other PSUs. Besides, the bank shall follow CVC guidelines, he added. "Bringing J&K Bank under the purview of RTI by state government is a welcome step. It will go a long way in ensuring transparency in dealing with public money by the premium banking company of the state," BJP state chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi told reporters here.
He said that there are lakhs of people in the state who have their money and investments in the bank without even knowing the investments by bank or the list and number of defaulters. There had been serious allegations in the media against functioning of the bank, but till date the bank succeeded in hiding truth under the carpet as it was evading supply of information being out of the RTI regime, Sethi said.
The state Bharatiya Janata Party is of the view that supply of information on request by the bank will ensure not only its transparency but also boost confidence of masses in security of their money, Sethi said.
Sethi noted that bringing the J&K Bank under the RTI was long-overdue and the step taken by the state government was in the right direction. "In coming times, many illegalities will come out when information under RTI start pouring in. Public has the right to know if transactions of the bank is above board or not. The J&K Bank having major stake of the state government couldn't avoid public glare," he said.
The state chief spokesperson said that politics being played by vested elements on the issue and raking in Article 370 is not only false but also a total misunderstanding of the situation. Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday criticised the decision to treat the Jammu and Kashmir Bank as a pubic sector undertaking, saying it "smacks of attempts to fiddle with the basic character of the state's special status". Union minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday lauded Malik's decision and alleged that the J&K Bank had been "misused" by the state's ruling families.
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