Bhubaneswar: Following a tribal man in Odisha carrying the skeleton of his sister to a bank as proof of her death to withdraw money from her savings account, the concerned bank branch manager was suspended and a directive issued to all 28 regional rural banks to prevent recurrence of similar incidents, particularly for customers from rural, tribal, and vulnerable sections.
This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a letter to Naveen Patnaik, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Odisha Assembly. Patnaik had, May 2, written a letter to Chaudhary highlighting the alleged hardship faced by the family due to procedural delays at the bank branch.
Replying to Patnaik’s letter, the Union minister June 12 said that the matter was examined with Odisha Grameen Bank (OGB). The bank has informed that the deceased depositor’s account did not have a surviving nominee and therefore, settlement of the claim required submission of prescribed documents, including the death certificate /legal heir details.
Bank also noted that, following intervention of the local administration, the requisite documents were issued and the claim amount of Rs 19,402 was subsequently settled in favour of Jeetu Munda and two legal heirs of the deceased account holder Kalra Munda.
“However, the incident has been viewed seriously by the Department of Financial Services. This Department acknowledges that while strict adherence to prescribed procedures is essential in banking operations, it is equally important that such procedures are implemented with due sensitivity, empathy, and effective communication, particularly in rural and tribal areas,” the Union minister mentioned in the letter.
The Union Minister said that the Odisha Grameen Bank (OGB) has, in the first instance, suspended the branch manager of the Malliposi branch where the said incident had occurred. Further, with the due approval of its Board, OGB has issued an advisory to all its field functionaries to ensure that they are compassionate/ empathetic and deliver transparent services to all customers.
This apart, with a view to reinforcing citizen-centric banking services and preventing the recurrence of such incidents across 28 RRBs in the country, an advisory has been issued by the Department of Financial Services to all Regional Rural Banks May 29 advising them to ensure responsive, compassionate and transparent customer service delivery, particularly for customers belonging to rural, tribal and other vulnerable sections of society, the letter said.