JK Bank Management In A State Of Inertia

The Jammu & Kashmir Bank, established by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1938 was seen as a premier financial institution has immensely contributed to the economic development of the erstwhile state now bifurcated into two union territories. The bank was known for it’s corporate dynamism & leadership as those at the helm were visionary economists who used to introduce policies & decisions further the causes of growth and viability of banks and as well as their relevance to the requirements of industry & Commerce. Barring sporadic delinquency by individuals, the officers & work force enjoyed a good reputation. There was a robust internal audit & vigilance system which ensured the fair play in the working of the Jammu & Kashmir Bank the premier financial institution of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state since bifurcate into two union territories. It was in 2017-18 during the BJP PDP coalition that the image of the bank got a severe beating. Allegations of corruption & nepotism in the recruitments were galore. While bank was & is very strict on a small borrower, and doesn’t show any mercy in recovery of outstanding from them, the big fishes enjoyed it’s soft peddling. Thousands of crores in NPA’s went without any effort of recovery and even they were offered one time settlement with an offer of waiver to the extent of considerable amount of interest.
Situation developing in the aftermath of post Article 370 abrogation and COVID-19 lockdown demands that government takes some bold initiatives to rejuvenate the management at the top with focus on filling of the vacant positions in semi urban and rural branches of the bank and upgradation of the infrastructural facilities.
With the imposition of Governor’s Rule & subsequent changes in the management hierarchy the bank took a downward drift. Subsequent investigations by the premier investigative agencies hit the routine process decision making at every level. Of late the government took some right steps such as infusing more capital & appointment of CEO, which however went under the judicial review and are still pending disposal. This state of affairs has badly hit the routine working of the bank including the daily transaction at the bank branches. Many branches are understaffed and headless as the personnel department of bank is not taking care of the manpower requirements of the bank branches rising year after year in every district of both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division and Ladhak area. Officers try to get posted in cities & towns as a result of which the working of bank branches in semi urban areas and villages are disturbed to intolerable extents. Poor infrastructure and understaffing in bank branch has made banking difficult. With the increase in state sponsored banking initiatives the workload has increased manifold. Situation developing in the aftermath of post Article 370 abrogation and COVID-19 lockdown demands that government takes some bold initiatives to rejuvenate the management at the top with focus on filling of the vacant positions in semi urban and rural branches of the bank and upgradation of the infrastructural facilities.
(The author a former senior officer of J&K Police department has worked on higher positions in the erstwhile J&K State Vigilance Organistion-J&K SVO now called J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau – J&K ACB. Views are his own)