GLADSTONE D’COSTA
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sab ha, the finance minister said “banks offer zero-bal ance savings accounts like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), to ensure universal access to banking facilities, particu larly for unbanked, vulner able and small depositors, and to promote financial inclusion.” It is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion to bring the banking system to all irre spective of financial or social status. Accounting for only 0.23% of the total income of Public Sector Banks, it is more social entrepreneur ship for the benefit of the lower social strata of society, rather than a revenue-gen erating exercise through penalties. This reflects in the key features of the PMJDY. An Aadhaar Card is all that is required to open an account. If unavailable, any one of the following is accepted: Vot er ID Card, Driving Licence, Passport, PAN Card, or NRE GA Job Card. Even in the absence of these, the bank can open a temporary “Small Account” for 12 months after a low risk check, which becomes permanent once valid pa pers are provided.
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Any Indi an citizen aged 10 years or older can open an account. Minors require a guardian to manage the account. No minimum balance is re quired to keep the account active. Accident insurance cover is available, and an overdraft facility of up to Rs 10,000 is available after six months of satisfacto ry account operation. The accounts are designed for “seamless receipt of govern ment subsidies” such as Di rect Benefit Transfer (DBT), Atal Pension Yojana (APY) and others. Against this background, it is difficult to understand how such horrific examples of inhuman insensitivity can occur like the two incidents described below. A tribal man, Ratan Lakra, used to receive, in his Jharkhand Gramin Bank account, a government pen sion which was used to pay for his treatment. When he failed to receive money from his bank account on time, he was unable to pay for treatment and died. Furious protests ensued in Garhwa district, with angry fami ly members and villagers staging a sit-in at the bank with his body alleging that his death was caused by the bank’s negligence.
According to the family, money was lying in the bank account but was not released be cause e-KYC had not been completed. Lakra’s family alleged that he had been vis iting the bank for the past three months to receive his pension, but the bank man ager made them run around to get the e-KYC done. Lat er, on the instructions of the regional manager, they brought the ailing man, who was on his deathbed, to the bank for e-KYC. Even after the e-KYC was completed, they went from pillar to post for the money, which they never received. He eventual ly died due to lack of funds for treatment. Bank offi cials, however, disputed the family’s claims. An inquiry ordered by the Jharkhand government found negli gence on the part of the bank and the district admin istration. Disciplinary action was recommended against the branch manager of the Jharkhand Rajya Gramin Bank in Ranchi as per rules. The second example is even more disturbing.
Most of us will not even be able to locate the Keonjhar district in Odisha where the inci dent occurred. Jitu Munda from one of the tribal villag es in this district lost his sis ter Kalra Munda, in January this year. She had an account with the regional rural bank branch, holding a credit bal ance of Rs 19,000 at the time of her death. Her brother, as the sole survivor, wanted to access this amount to cover various expenses subse quent to her death. The bank wanted proof of her death even though both brother and sister were well-known, frequent visitors to the bank. The brother did not have a death certificate, not knowing what one was. As per local tribal customs, the sister had been buried rath er than cremated. After approaching the bank repeatedly, in desper ation, he dug up his sister’s body and carried it to the bank to prove her death. He eventually got the Rs 19,000 and an additional Rs 15 lakh as donations because the me dia aroused the conscience of the world by publicising the news. Having satisfied the bank by producing the corpse, he carried the body back and reburied it.
What was most disgraceful was that neither the bank nor the police or the administrative officials present at the bank made any effort to help him transport the body back; he walked back with the body on his shoulder. Such was the apathy. Worse still, neither the banking officials nor the RBI took serious notice of the incident. It was the RBI’s duty to enquire into the inci dent and draft measures to ensure such an incident nev er ever happens again. The banking ombudsman should have at least taken suo moto action on the basis of the re ports. The incident and more importantly the deafening si lence of the bank, the police and the local administration, was a disgrace to society. Both these incidents demon strate that it is not enough to have a zero-balance bank ac count under the PMJDY; ac cessing and operating it are equally important. Following the death of the account holder, if the survi vors who have rights to the funds are unable to do so because of administrative issues, there a number op tions available. They should register a First Information Report (FIR).
For govern ment employees or State pensioners, legal heirs can claim medical reimburse ments and pension arrears. Complaints should be es calated to local authorities, District Commissioners, or State Chief Minister’s help lines. Finally, as a last resort, a writ petition can be filed through the High Court or National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) for compensation citing administrative negli gence. However, one cannot expect a poor tribal villager, to be familiar with such legal procedures, when he did not even know how to obtain a death certificate. Which is why it was imperative that the RBI should have inter vened and laid down sim pler alternative measures to deliver justice in such cases. (The author is the Past IMA Goa State President, founder member and Past President of VHAG, and a past member of the Central Executive Committee of VHAI)
