MARGAO
In an unprecedented development, the beleaguered shareholders went ahead with the adjourned annual general meeting of the Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank (MUCB) on Sunday sans the Board of Directors, setting a 10-day deadline for the Directors to disclose the list of loan defaulters or face gheraos at their residences and work place.
The meeting further resolved to lodge criminal complaints against the BoDs for criminal liability. The shareholders vowed to take legal recourse if no FIR is registered against the BoDs.
While the MUCB Board had on Friday postponed the adjourned annual general body meeting citing COVID restrictions, beleaguered shareholders kept a date at the Bhandari Bhavan, Margao as they turned up in sizeable numbers for the meeting on Sunday morning.
Unlike in the past when the annual general meeting was presided over by the Bank chairman and Board of Directors, shareholders Dinisio Sardinha chaired the meeting before the assembly adopted a host of resolutions.
The shareholders demanded that the BoDs provide the list along with all details as was requested in the Annual General Meeting held on December 26 last.
In another resolution, the shareholders demanded that the Bank provide a list of movable and immovable properties and collateral securities, besides liquid cash with the bank as on date.
The meeting called upon the management to trim the bank staff and merge them in other branches to stop further losses. The bank has been requested to shift the branches from rented premises to the bank’s own property and to reduce the contract staff.
The meeting called upon the bank management to resolve the issue by adopting legal procedures so that the lock holders or their families can get access to their valuables.
Some of the shareholders said they should all call on the MLAs and ministers, including Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, to highlight the issue of MUCB in the ensuing session of the Assembly.
Addressing the meeting, Dinisio Sardinha wondered why only the MUCB is prohibiting the disclosure of names of defaulters when other banks had in the past had put up the names on their notice board. He said the shareholders should go and inspect the audit books to find out the names of the loan defaulters.
Saying that the Public Interest Litigation filed by him in the High Court is coming up for hearing on January 19, Dinisio said he is ready to go on a fast unto death to get justice for the beleaguered depositors. “If Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hails from the Bahujan Samaj, he should immediately intervene and give justice to the depositors”, he demanded.
Dinisio said a memorandum will be handed over to the MUCB, Reserve Bank of India, Minister for Cooperation Govind Gawde and others to resolve the bank crisis.
In his address, a shareholder Chandan Nayak said alleged scams have brought the MUCB to such a pitiable situation. He demanded to know how former Chairman Ramakant Angle was allowed to quit as a director, saying that repeated pleas for an inquiry all these years were stonewalled to protect the guilty.
Simon Caido said shareholders from Goa Velha will hold a meeting on Sunday near the Church to chalk out the future course of action.
Shareholder Nazario Pinto said the time has come to gherao and agitate at the residences of the BODs and file criminal complaints.
A member of the Bank Revival Committee, Ashish Kamat told the meeting that a well planned conspiracy has cheated the bank and brought the institution to the present situation. “The defaulters were all known to the BODs. A banking fraud is the cause of the situation”, he added.
Simon Baretto and Moreno Rebello said how Rs 85 lakh belonging to the Curtorim Comunidade is stuck up in the MUCB, both pointing out how the common man has been denied the facility to withdrawn their hard earned money from the bank.
