The hike in transaction fee beyond free normal transactions to Rs 21/- per transaction by the banks in the country including Jammu & Bank is huge and rather unaffordable for the customers particularly those of low income groups in view of the increasing economic and jobless across the country and more so in Jammu & Kashmir where fresh surge in pandemic cases has necessitated strict implementation of covid containment guidelines . The argument that the ATM transaction fee hike would be used for the maintenance of bank ATMs does not find any takers as the salary of ATM guards has been already reduced by one half and as such people reserve the right to raise questions over the hike in ATM transaction charges beyond free normal ATM transactions by the banks in compliance to a notification from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the basis of the recommendation of a high powered committee constituted for the said purpose. Not only the hike in ATM transaction charges beyond free normal transactions but even the revised rules have gone against the interests of the people in the times of yet another high intensity wave of a new variant of covid-19 pandemic called “Omicron” across the country and more so in Jammu & Kashmir where government has strictly enforced implementation of covid guidelines to reduce the increasing intensity of a fresh surge in the pandemic cases.
While the breakout of a new variant of covid-19 pandemic called “ Omicron” necessitates the facilitation of public services in priority sectors for the conveniences of the people in nook and corner of the country and more so in Jammu & Kashmir presently witnessing another phase of unprecedented surge in the covid-19 pandemic, the announcement of hike in charges of ATM transactions beyond normal transactions and disparity in the no of non normal transactions in metropolitan and non metropolitan cities goes against the spirits of public interests and public conveniences.
Looking at the revised guidelines the customers are now allowed just five free ATM transactions a month and unfortunately free ATM transactions have been reduced to just three in metropolitan cities. Keeping in view the fact that people from most of the states and union territories move in huge numbers to metropolitan cities during the chilly months of winter, the decision to reduce free ATM transactions to only three in metropolitan cities goes against the interests of the customers particularly those belonging to low income groups in a scenario of economic and job stress triggered by back to back two covid lockdowns in last two years of pandemic. Hike for any public service be it power, portable water or the digital banking facilities goes against the interests of the people already hit hard by the growing economic and job stress triggered by back to back two covid lockdowns in last two years. While the breakout of a new variant of covid-19 pandemic called “ Omicron” necessitates the facilitation of public services in priority sectors for the conveniences of the people in nook and corner of the country and more so in Jammu & Kashmir presently witnessing another phase of unprecedented surge in the covid-19 pandemic, the announcement of hike in charges of ATM transactions beyond normal transactions and disparity in the no of non normal transactions in metropolitan and non metropolitan cities goes against the spirits of public interests and public conveniences.
