Bank Roll & Tumble Plan

Governor stirs a hornet’s nest over J&K Bank, leading to protests and then a step back.

- Naseer Ganai

A huge banner outside the main gate of the J&K Bank headquarters in Srinagar reads: “Honour the sentiments of people and stop (playing) politics. Rollback SAC decision.” It has been put up by the All India Jammu and Kashmir Bank Officers Federation, which is asking the government to revoke the State Advisory Council’s (SAC) November 22 decision to treat the J&K Bank Limited as a public sector undertaking (PSU). The SAC meeting was chaired by governor Satya Pal Malik and the decision was taken without consulting the bank’s board of directors, which include five independent directors, a state government nominee and an RBI nominee.

The move has created a political storm with all regional parties and trade bodies across J&K insisting that the governor revoke the order. Raising concern over “politicising the autonomy of J&K Bank”, the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry have asked the governor to review the decisi

Inside the bank’s corporate HQ, officers are worried about the consequences of the decision. They fear government control would turn the bank into an entity like any other state PSU, most of which are running losses due to alleged political and bureaucratic interference. “Bring the bank under the ambit of the Right to Information Act by all means, but changing its character and making it a PSU is fraught with danger,” says an official.