ITANAGAR, 27 Oct: Issues pertaining to the banks within the Itanagar capital region (ICR) were discussed during a meeting convened by DC Talo Potom in his office chamber here on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Lead Bank Manager S Ranjit Singh informed that students with accounts in any bank are eligible for availing the benefits of various government schemes. He, however, highlighted that “some teachers and principals are insisting the students to open accounts only in the State Bank of India, which is causing difficulties to the schoolchildren.”
Also present at the meeting was a team of Miss Capital 2021, whose members raised queries regarding
defunct ATMs, customer service points, opening of accounts of students, bakijai cases, DDUSY, etc, to which the lead bank manager informed that “the operation of ATMs has been outsourced and the reason for defunct ATMs is mainly due to technical issues.”
He informed that “experts of the ATMs are coming from outside the state, which is causing delay in servicing.”
“The matter has already been brought to the notice of the competent authority and is under active consideration,” he added.
Regarding customer service points, the Miss Capital 2021 team informed that the customer service points are charging fees from customers for withdrawal, deposit and transfer of money, to which the lead bank manager informed that such people are not authorized to charge any money from the customers.
He said that the public can lodge a written complaint with the bank branch if they come across such instances.
“As per Section 160 of the Income Tax Act, even minors are eligible to apply for PAN card as there is no age limit requirement specified in the act. PAN card can be applied for children below five years and remain the permanent identity proof, irrespective of change in the names or address,” he said.
Regarding the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Swavalamban Yojana, it was informed that the beneficiaries’ list selected by the district administration was distributed equally to all the banks on the same day itself by the lead bank, but that loans are being disbursed at the convenience of the respective banks.
It was decided in the meeting that all bakijai cases shall henceforth be heard by the ICR DC, and the certificate officer shall hand over all bakijai cases to the DC immediately.
Later, the DC requested the lead bank manager to “explore the possibilities of sponsoring for opening of a drug rehabilitation centre under CSR activities.” (DIPRO)
