Banks adopt different yardsticks for customers

Sangareddy: In the absence of clear instructions from higher-ups and in view of ad hoc rules being framed and introduced by the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India authorities on a daily basis, on Thursday banks adopted differing yardsticks to serve government employees and pensioners who had come to collect their salaries in Sangareddy.

Although news reports suggested that government employees could withdraw Rs 10,000 on Thursday, the banks did not follow the rule uniformly. In the State Bank of Hyderabad main branch at Sangareddy, government employees and pensioners were allowed to withdraw up to Rs 24,000, if they had that much balance in their accounts.

They were also given the option to withdraw the same amount once a week if they wished to. There was a separate counter for pensioners and senior citizens. According to Vijaya Laxmi, Manager of SBH, Sangareddy main branch, there were no instructions from the head office regarding any limit on withdrawals for government employees on pay day.

However, the situation in State Bank of India main branch at Sangareddy was different. Government employees and pensioners, who had filled in withdrawal slips for Rs 10,000 believing in news reports, were disappointed when the tellers told them they could only withdraw only Rs 5,000 once a week. Going further, even this rule was not applied equally for all.

A senior official in the district administration, who had come to collect his salary at this bank, shared with this reporter that he could withdraw ‘only’ Rs 10,000. So, there was this prejudice with respect to treating employees of different grades differently by the bank. Prasad, a senior citizen/pensioner, was given two Rs 2,000 notes and ten Rs 100 notes for the Rs 5,000 he withdrew. Apparently he was not happy about it.

When contacted, Madhusudhan Prasad, Chief Manager, SBI Sangareddy branch, said, “We can’t officially declare anything to you. If you need any information you can get it from the head office in Hyderabad.” This huge difference in the availability of cash at different banks raises questions about how banks have been dealing with cash since the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes was announced on November 8.

With people in the dark about the total deposits in various banks in the district and with no information on how much currency the Reserve Bank of India had given to various banks, a lot was left to imagination. The Lead Bank Manager was not available for comment on Thursday.