RTI EFFECT – CENTRAL BANK DISPATCHES CHEQUES

M.K. Gupta

Till 11th April, 2009 from 23.2.09, the Central Bank of India did not dispatch even a single refund cheque since, according to bank, there were huge number of cheques which required proper reconciliation. It suddenly, handed over all the 9180 cheques on 12.4.09 to its courier company on which it was merrily sitting for about 50 days.

What was the difference between the closing of the Bank on 11th and opening of the Bank on 12th April that prompted the Bank to Act fast? The difference was that on 11th April, it received an RTI application filed by the undersigned to know the status of the dispatch of these cheques.

The case goes like this. NOIDA Authority on 20.1.09 asked the Central Bank to refund Rs. 1,000/- to 8199 applicants. According to BANK, it made cheques on 23.2.09 but till 11.4.09 did not dispatch even a single cheque. The amount of refund was Rs. 80 lakhs. In the meantime, 119 harassed persons collected the cheques personally from the Bank at ITO.

This is the result of filing the RTI application.