Maharashtra state bank employees union protests govt loan melas

The federation's secretary, said in a statement the Congress government before "distributed hundreds of crores" by organising loan melas and now the present government is on the same lines

The Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation has warned against the union government’s “loan melas”, saying such programmes add to the non-performing assets (NPAs) burden of public sector banks. 

NPA levels of public sector banks are then used as a justification to privatise them. The federation’s secretary, Devidas Tuljapurkar, said in a statement the Congress government before "distributed hundreds of crores" by organising loan melas and now the present government is on the same lines.

Instead of such programmes, the government should address policy issues such as effective legal structure for recovering overdue loans and timely appointment of board of directors. The government should ensure uninterrupted electricity supply and BSNL connectivity to public sector bank branches so as to give uninterrupted customer service, said the federation.

Government should ensure there is adequate recruitment in banks, burden of service charges on customers is reduced, and adequate and timely credit to small and medium farmers and industry, the statement said.

“We appeal to the government for genuine autonomy and professionalism in public sector banks and to address above policy issues so as to strengthen public sector banks,” said the federation.