Liquidating process will take 1- 2 months: Minister
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Apr 2: Minister for Cooperative Javid Ahmad Dar today assured on floor of the House that the depositors’ money in Jammu and Kashmir State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development (SCARD) Bank was safe with the Government guarantee and the ongoing process of liquidating will take one or two months.
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“We have already initiated the process to appoint a liquidator. The matter involves various technicalities and pertains to around Rs 181 crore, so it cannot be resolved overnight. I want to assure accountholders that their money is safe and backed by a Government guarantee-it is not lost anywhere; it is with the Government,” he said.
The assurance was given by the Minister during Zero Hours in the House after BJP MLA Surjit Singh Slathia and other legislators of his party rose from their seats pressing for a Government statement on the issue.
The Minister said the file has been returned to the Cooperatives Department from the Finance Department, and the process of appointing a liquidator is likely to be completed within the next few days, with the entire exercise expected to conclude within one to two months.
Earlier, Surjit Singh Slathia strongly raised the issue of SCARD Bank scam and alleged that the Government was not coming out with a clear statement on the status of depositors’ money.
Seeking release of deposits of around 22,000 account holders in SCARD Bank, who have been running from pillar to post for getting back their hard earned money, Slathia stressed that the Government was duty bound to come up with a statement on the matter.
Even as the Speaker sought to pacify the agitating legislator by stating that the Minister had already made a statement on the issue, other BJP MLAs also joined Slathia and rose from their seats while raising the matter.
Following this, Minister for Cooperative Javid Ahmad Dar came up with the statement assuring that the depositors’ money in SCARD Bank was safe with the Government guarantee.
As the Speaker A R Rather said that employees of the bank should also be taken care of, such as their rehabilitation, BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma retorted that these employees don’t deserve rehabilitation, but punishment.
On this, the minister assured stern action against those involved in the scam while looking into the issue of genuine employees after getting a report.
It may be recalled that the Minster had earlier informed the House that the SCARD Bank is not registered under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and therefore it does not fall under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India. He had said that the bank was presently under the control of the UT Government through the Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS) and the Administrative Department of Cooperatives.
The bank has not been declared bankrupt and the Government has initiated the process of liquidation in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Co-operative Societies Act, 1989 due to prolonged financial and operational distress.
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