West MLA Sandhu demands audit of cooperative bank

Amritsar, March 11

Amritsar (West) MLA Jasbir Singh Sandhu raised a question regarding the appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amritsar Central Cooperative Bank, during the Budget session.

The MLA raised his objection to the improper election of the Amritsar Central Cooperative Bank Chairman.

Sandhu said Arinderbir Singh Walia, Chairman, Amritsar Central Cooperative Bank, could not be elected as a member of the Board of Directors as per the rule and regulations. He said Walia himself was a loan defaulter of the bank and no defaulter can take such a position in the bank. “Taking advantage of his approach, Walia managed to become the Chairman in violation of rules. Many complaints have been received at the office of the Joint Registrar, Cooperative Society, Jalandhar,” he said.

Sandhu informed the Assembly about the scams that had taken place in the Amritsar Central Cooperative Bank in the past. He said around Rs 2 crore had been embezzled at the East Mohan Nagar branch but no action had been taken so far. Sandhu also expressed his dissatisfaction with the District Manager and Managing Directors of the bank.

He requested the Chief Minister that there had been a lot of frauds in the bank during the tenure of the previous government. Many vigilance cases are also pending but concrete action and money recovery has not been done till date. The government should get an audit conducted by an external agency and the scam would be exposed, he said.