MARGAO
Beleaguered shareholders and depositors of Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank (MUCB) on Monday demanded that the government set up an inquiry by the CBI or Enforcement Directorate to book the culprits responsible for the bank’s present status if it cannot return their hard-earned money.
The shareholders also took strong exception to the MUCB proposal made before the High Court to clear 49,000 depositors having depositors of up to Rs 20,000, demanding that the bank make proportional payments to all the depositors.
With the writ petition scheduled to come up before the High Court on February 3, different categories of depositors, including the Curtorim Comunidade and depositors from Goa Velha, have decided to file an intervention application with a plea to make them parties to the petition.
Addressing the media, shareholder Dinisio Sardinha pointed out that if the Minister for Cooperation, Govind Gaude, has declined to intervene in the MUCB affairs or return the deposits of the 66,000 depositors, the government should set up an inquiry by the CBI or Enforcement Directorate into the bank affairs.
Appreciating MLAs Reginaldo Lourenco, Churchill Alemao, Francis Silveira and Tony Fernandes for raising the MUCB issue in the just-concluded Assembly session, Sardinha took exception to Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat for requesting Silveira not to raise MUCB issue and restrict the debate to Visionaries Societies.
“The shareholders had submitted a memorandum to Kamat with the hope that the Opposition leader would take up the issue and protect the interests of the depositors. MUCB has its headquarters in Margao and we had expected Kamat to show interest in the grievances of the depositors, but in vain,” he said, while lamenting that the Opposition leader had failed to support the cause of the depositors.
Sardinha also disputed Cooperation Minister Govind Gaude’s stand that the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) has no major role in the MUCB, reminding that the RCS role does come into play into the bank audit.
“The minister should protect the interest of the depositors. If he say the RCS has no role to play in the MUCB, Gaude should order an inquiry into the bank affairs to find out how it has suffered a loss of Rs 63 crore,” he said.
While blaming ex-MUCB Chairman Ramakant Angle and incumbent Chairman Kishore Narvekar for the state of MUCB affairs, Sardinha said the rebates granted to the loan defaulters by the bank management are responsible for the bank going into the red.
Curtorim Comunidade Attorney Simon Barretto said the Comunidade has resolved to file an intervention application in the High Court since a whopping Rs 84 lakh deposits of the Comunidade, besides fixed, are at stake.
Shareholders John Viegas from Goa Velha and Menino Fernandes also addressed the media.
