The Hindu Business Line : RBI urged not to sell land in Durgapur

Mr Samir Ghosh, General Secretary of Reserve Bank Employees Association, has alleged that the RBI is trying to sell 18 acres it had acquired in Durgapur in the seventies for setting up an office there. "Instead of setting up the office, RBI is now planning to sell the land," Mr Ghosh said while addressing a convention here recently organised by the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees.

He urged RBI to open at least one more office in the State, either at Durgapur, where the land was already available, or at Siliguri, the gateway to the North-East.

Mr Ghosh regretted that there were no RBI offices in several States.

In the entire North-East, comprising seven States, there was only one office at Guwahati and its strength too was being reduced. There were no offices in any of the newly-created States of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. A small outfit had just been opened in Uttaranchal.

"A shrinking RBI, either in size or in importance, is not in the best interest of the country," he said.

Mr Ghosh also commented sharply on the downsizing of the country's central bank. In 1995, the total workforce in RBI was 33,000, reduced to 20,000 today. As many as 13,000 posts had been abolished. During the same period, the strength of the Kolkata office of RBI had been reduced by nearly 2,000.

"This is difficult to accept, more so because RBI is outsourcing many of its vital operations on the plea of reduced strength," he observed.

He pointed out RBI had virtually withdrawn from some of its critical functions such as currency management and monitoring of foreign exchange operations and other important operations such as those relating to public debt and monitoring of banking operations were not receiving enough importance.

"Only 1,200 people are engaged in monitoring the operations of about 50,000 bank branches spread all over the country," he said. Worse, the clearing operation was being shifted to a private firm and the Government is planning to bring a bill on this in Parliament. "We've already opposed it but the effort is continuing," he added.

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