Srinagar: Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) Saturday alleged that Jammu and Kashmir Bank adapts dual standard in providing loans to the state and non-state subjects. While addressing a session of EJAC, President Abdul Qayoom Wani said that the Bank is providing soft loans to the corporate houses on easy interest rates, whereas, it is cumbersome for a state subject to seek different loans from the bank.
The state employees are the assured clients of the Jammu Kashmir Bank but the Bank charges more interest from them than its own employees and this disparity, in the interest, shall not be tolerated, he said.
EJAC felt that the Bank has caused social and personal problems to the government employees by asking the clients to have government employees as guarantors and this practice has seriously affected the social relations. By charging heavy interest rates, the JK Bank is sucking the blood of the employees of the state.
The bank charges 6.5% interest from its own employees on different loans whereas the general employees are charged 14.5% interest on the same loans which is sheer injustice with the state employees.
The session also observed that the employees do not get any benefit despite being assured clients of the Bank. Moreover, the Bank provides very poor services and shows very rude behavior while dealing with the general customers.
At times, an employee does not get his/her salary in time but the bank charges its interest as per the norms thereby fleeces the assured clients (employees).
The EJAC president according to CNS urged the Board of Directors, Chairman J&K Bank and the State Finance Minister to remove this disparity in the interest rates between the bank employees and the state employees. In case the disparity is not removed, the employees may rethink for alternate and may not draw their salary through J&K Bank. The bank should provide soft terms to local clients on the analogy of non local clients like Vijay Maliya and Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon. The bank saps the vitals of the state employees in particular and common people in general through its lending procedures and policies. The Bank, in the name of empowerment, has simply enhanced its own assets and reduced the purchasing power of its clients as the bank charges heavy interests on various loans and gives very low interests on deposits.
EJAC said that under social initiatives, the Bank maintains public parks but actually it is a generating resource for the Bank and all this is done to please their bosses as well as the corporate houses, both within and outside the state.
Wani urged upon the State Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, to look into this serious issue personally so that the Bank may come up to the expectations of the state employees in particular and to the common people in general.
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