The Hindu Business Line : Panel wants banks to improve redressal

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice would like the public sector banks to strengthen their own internal systems for redressal of public grievances, according to Dr E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, MP and Chairman of the committee.

The 12-member committee, which is meeting the senior officials of three Kolkata-based banks, namely, United Bank, UCO Bank and Allahabad Bank, among others, over two days will examine the steps being taken by these banks and what more is needed to be done in this regard, Mr Natchiappan told newspersons here on Tuesday.

"We've already met the top brass of several other banks in Mumbai, including those of Reserve Bank of India, and particularly urged the country's central bank to sensitise the public sector banks in this matter," he observed.

Asked whether the Banking Ombudsman was not doing its work properly, Mr Natchiappan said that the Ombudsman, which is an outside agency, had its own limitations.

"Besides, strengthening a bank's own internal systems would any day be preferable to depending on an outside agency." The strengthening of internal systems would also rid the banks of many of their unnecessary expenditure incurred in litigation, he said.

Judicial reforms

The issue of jobs on compassionate ground in public sector banks, too, would receive the attention of the committee. "Although there is an IBA decision in this regard, the banks have stopped such recruitments for the past few years," he said.

The two issues of the judicial reforms — accountability of the judges and strengthening of the amenities and infrastructure in courts — were being examined by the committee. Mr Natchiappan felt that there should be plan allocation for strengthening the court infrastructure.

Mr Ram Jethmalani, MP, and a member of the committee, expressed the view that the issue of accountability of the judges must be handled carefully; otherwise, the independence of the judiciary would be totally destructed.

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