SRINAGAR: After being sacked almost 21 months ago, former Chairman and Managing Director of Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd, Pervez Ahmad has broken his silence. In an interview to newspaper The Hindu, Pervez has said the move to raid the bank and his removal was “politically motivated” and “tarnished his reputation for no reason and rhyme.”
Parvez Ahmad
21 Months After
Talking about charges of illegal appointments, kicks-backs and helping his “relatives” during his tenure leveled against him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Pervez has said no charge has been established by the probing agency. “The ACB has failed to establish my role in any of the charges even after 21 months. There is nothing concrete that has emerged so far to justify coercive actions taken against the bank and its officials,” he told the newspaper and added, “with each passing day, the political motivation behind my removal is getting starker.”
Refuting the charge of alleged illegal recruitments, Pervez has said the “routine was followed.” “Appointment on compassionate grounds was in vogue since the inception of the bank to provide sustenance to socially and economically weaker sections. Such practices were never objected to by the board members, the RBI or any other regulatory body or law enforcing agency. The same model was adopted during the BJP-PDP coalition government too, he said.
Terming the selection of the particular period of scrutiny from 2011-2019 as “biased,” Pervez has said, “if the present regime deems the practice illegal then it should terminate all such appointments made during the past 80 years and even stop the pension of such employees.”
While referring to the recruitment of 582 banking associates in his tenure by the then governor Satya Pal Malik, Pervez raised a question that “the then-governor Satya Pal Malik had publicly ordered that 582 candidates, who had failed to qualify interview as Banking Associates be absorbed, superseding the Board of Directors of the Bank. Such appointments are not forming a part of the investigation.”
Expressing concern over the performance of the bank, Pervez has said “the performance of the bank is disappointing on all fronts.” “The bank saw loss of Rs 1139 crore as on March 31, 2020; closure of key offices and branches outside J&K instead of opening of new branches abroad; and nosediving of share prices from Rs 60 to Rs 14, resulting in erosion of the investment value of the government in the bank from Rs 2100 crore to Rs 600 crore.”
He further said it is high time for the government to restore the functional autonomy of the bank.
“The government is not able to identify a candidate to be appointed as a full-time chairman and the interim chairman gets extension after every three months. It is high time for the government to restore the functional autonomy of the bank, he said.
Plea Dismissed
The J&K High court dismissed plea of Pervez Ahmad to be reinstated as Chairman of the bank. Justice Ali Mohammed Magray in a detailed judgement recorded that sum total of the discussion is that the nomination of the petitioner as Director on the Board and his appointment as Chairman-cum-Chief Executive Officer of the bank was contractual in nature and not governed by any Statue or the service conditions ordinarily applicable to the employees of the bank.
Initiated in his tenure, the process for the selection of 250 probationary officers and 1200 Banking Associates was also cancelled.
The new process, however, under the current leadership is in the process and is almost at the verge of completion.
The Sacking
Four months before the completion of his three-year term as Chairman cum Managing Director of J&K Bank, Pervez Ahmad was sacked after being alleged to have involvement in illegal and fraudulent appointments. The order was issued by the additional secretary rank officer, “Mr Pervez Ahmad, Chairman cum Managing Director shall cease to be a director on the Board of Directors of the Bank and consequently be no longer the Chairman Cum Managing Director of the Board,” the order read.
Following his sacking, ACB officials carried out simultaneous raids at J&K Bank’ Corporate Headquarters and also the official residence of Ahmad at Bund, Srinagar, looking for nearly records of nearly 1200 appointments allegedly made when he was at the helm of the bank.
Appointed as Chairman & CEO of the bank in October 2016 by the BJPDP government, it was alleged that Ahmad, a resident Kaprin, a non-descript village in south Kashmir’s Shopian district had accommodated people with political favours from both the regions of the erstwhile state.
People who worked with him claimed that after the fall of the Mehbooba Mufti-led government, Pervez completely shifted his loyalties towards the right-winger BJP.
Among several other allegations, he was accused of nepotism. Insiders in the bank alleging that Pervez had placed his “favourite” men at key positions, including his personal office, recruitment department and other important departments. One of the key personnel in managing Human Resources related affairs was his nephew, said a senior officer of the bank, besides few more men lower rung officials who had worked with him earlier in different capacities.
A former employee of the estate department said that he “rented out his own premises and premises of his relatives in far-flung areas at exorbitant rates, otherwise not suitable for the purpose.”
Appointed in 1998 as the first Company Secretary, Pervez had an uninterrupted rise to reach the topmost level. He was the first in-service and second in-house chairman of the bank.
‘Necessary Step’
Terming the decision of sacking Pervez “important”, the erstwhile state administration led by governor Malik said the move was part of its commitment to take “necessary steps for making the Jammu & Kashmir Bank as one of the best performing banks in the country and accelerate economic growth in the state.”
Further, it was said that the J&K Bank has been repeatedly directed by the RBI to separate the positions of Chairman and Managing Director for better governance.
However, even after 21 months post sacking of Pervez, the post of Chairman and Managing Director continues to be held by one person.
Appointed on the basis of time gap arrangement, the then senior-most executive of the Bank, R K Chibber was handed over the baton. In between, the appointments were made separately for Chairman and Managing Director posts as per the RBI guidelines.
As Chibber was given the Chairman post, former senior vice president of HDFC Bank, Zubair Iqbal was appointed as the first MD of the bank. Slated to get approval from the regulator, Zubair was recently removed as a board member and given an assignment in the government as Chief Financial Consultant.
Chibber whose sixth extension is going to end on April 10th continues to hold the post of Chairman and Managing Director for the past 21 months, possibly first in the banking industry.
from Kashmir Life https://ift.tt/3rwALqL
via IFTTThttps://kashmirlife.net
No comments:
Post a Comment