OROP suicide: Ex-jawan's bank denies charge of pension miscalculation, says onus on govt to get numbers right
Ram Singh, the chief manager of State Bank of India's Ghanta Ghar branch , explained that the onus of calculating wages and pensions lay solely with the government. Banks, he said, are only disbursing agents and not auditors of such funds.
In Short
- SBI has rubbished government allegations that it under-calculated the pension.
- The bank has said that the onus is on the govt in calculating wages and pensions.
- The chief manager of the SBI branch said banks are only disbursing agents and not auditors of funds.
Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal's bank has rebutted government allegations that it under-calculated the pension due to the late ex-serviceman.
ONUS OF CALCULATING WAGES LIES WITH GOVERNMENT
As Grewal's alleged suicide sent the country's political temperatures soaring, India Today TV's special investigation crew met the chief of the State Bank of India's Ghanta Ghar branch in Haryana's Bhiwani, which had been paying out the pension to the army veteran since his retirement in 2004. Ram Singh, the chief manager, explained that the onus of calculating wages and pensions lay solely with the government. Banks, he said, are only disbursing agents and not auditors of such funds.
GREWAL RECIVED RS.5000 LESS THAN HE WAS OWED
The probe by India Today TV's special team came in the wake of claims by defence-ministry sources, who requested not to be named, that Grewal had been receiving `5,000 less than his official monthly pension. The ministry sources blamed the bank for the anomaly. ""As per the calculations, Grewal should have been receiving a pension of `28,000 in pension but due to some miscalculation by the bank he was getting only `23,000," a defence official said Wednesday Singh, the chief manager of the SBI's Ghanta Ghar branch in Bhiwani, trashed the government's accusations circulated in the media, explaining pensions are disbursed in accordance with the pension payment orders (PPOs) issued by the former employers of the retired staff.
NOT BANK'S FAULT
"It's none of the bank's fault. Banks cannot be faulted in such cases at all. Our bank made the payment in accordance with the PPO. It's the department concerned that issues the PPO," he said. "Did they (the ministry officials) try to save their own skin and blamed the bank?" asked India Today TV's investigative reporter. "This is up to you to judge," retorted Singh, sitting in his chamber. The Indian government has also created a dedicated portal for its pensioners, which lists out the rules for departments to issue PPOs to their staff well before their retirement. Employees, it mentions, are encouraged to report errors.
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