Pradip Kumar Datta
Tue, 28 Nov 2006 04:43:25 -0800
Will the PM bother to intervene? Being an Asomiya is a sin! By a Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, Nov 27: Asom seems to be out of New Delhis radar. And it is true that to be an Asomiya is a sin, particularly for those who have earned international recognition, and still injustices are meted out by deliberately denying promotions to the deserving lot. And that is why Dr Radha Binod Barman, the senior-most Executive Director and the IT face of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), was denied promotion to the post of Deputy Governor thrice in 2003, 2004 and 2005 simply because he hails from Asom. Dr Barman, who is holding the post of Executive Director for the past six years, is an acclaimed expert in Business Information Technology and Payment and Settlement System, an important and critical area in central banking. In the RBI, there are four posts of Deputy Governor which are filled with the approval of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet. In most cases, Executive Directors are elevated to the post of Deputy Governor. The Committee of the Central Board met on November 17, 2005, where the Governor announced the elevation of Dr RB Barman from Executive Director to Deputy Governor in his personal capacity, in recognition for his expertise and contributions in his area of specialization. The Governor also told the Committee that he had taken up the matter with the Union Ministry of Finance and received the Governments concurrence to the proposal. He also explained that he was not able to recommend a regular appointment of Dr Barman as Deputy Governor in view of legal operational constraints. An office order (No. 78 dated November 17, 2005), signed by Deputy Governor V Leeladhar was issued to Dr Barman, all regional directors, the Chief General Manager, RBI and Assistant General Manager, Mumbai, giving Dr Barman the status equivalent to that of Deputy Governor purely on personal basis. Consequently, he was given the pay and allowances and also entitlements to all facilities as applicable to Deputy Governors in the Bank. To further formalize his status, in the RBI letter no. 2457/02.03.001/2005-06 dated December 2, 2005 addressed to Directors of Central Bank and the local boards, Dr Barman was designated as Deputy Governor (Personal Status). But, after a week, the RBI (vide letter no. SYD. 2578/02.03.001/2005-06 dated December 9, 2005) modified the order and advised that Dr Barman had been given the status equivalent to that of Deputy Governor purely on a personal basis for the purpose of pay and allowances and also entitlement to all facilities available to Deputy Governors in the Bank and he will be continued to be designated as Executive Director. Barman, who will attain the age of superannuation on July 31, 2008, cannot be equated with Executive Director as the latter has a lower status. A humiliated Dr Barman has appealed against this order several times but there is no one to hear him. Dr Barman is not an ordinary person. He has been behind the IT initiatives for the last six years, resulting in remarkable change that has transformed the industry towards efficiency and better customer service. Dr Barman was also elected Vice Chairman of Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics, a forum of 56 central banks in a conference this year held in Switzerland. The Bank has deliberately denied Dr Barman the post of Deputy Governor, not on consideration of merit, but branding him as a specialist. This is the first time in the recent history of the RBI that the senior-most Executive Director has been denied promotion on absolutely untenable grounds. The RBI Governor makes recommendations for the post of Deputy Governor. But the Governor did not recommend the name of Dr Barman, stating that he is a specialist. On earlier occasion, however, Dr P D Ojha, senior-most Executive Director, was appointed as Deputy Governor even though he was a specialist. Though Dr Ojha was an economist and the post of Deputy Governor was occupied by Dr C Rangarajan, Dr Ojha had no difficulty in becoming a Deputy Governor because, as per tradition, the senior-most Executive Director of RBI had to be appointed against one vacancy of Deputy Governor, regardless of whether he was an economist or otherwise. Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (who also happens to be an MP from Asom) on December 19, 2005 ( No. 61/HDS/2005), asked the latter to give Dr Barman the status of Deputy Governor (Personal Status) immediately till Dr Barman is not appointed a regular Deputy Governor. Rajya Sabha MP R S Gavai also urged the Prime Minister (letter no RSG/DEL/5984/2005 dated December 25, 2005) to look into the injustice meted out to Dr Barman by the RBI authorities. Terming the RBI order an act of blatant injustice, Mr Gavai, who is also the chairman of SC/ST Parliamentary Forum, said that the arbitrary withdrawal of designation in rank and status was unjust and highly condemnable. He sought immediate intervention of the Prime Minister in the matter so as to give Dr Barman the regular post of Deputy Governor. But the Government, till date, has not initiated any step to restore Dr Barman as Deputy Governor. It might be because Dr Barman is from Asom and the RBI does not want a specialist from Asom to become an RBI Deputy Governor. Had Dr Barman hailed from mainland India, he would have been a regular RBI Deputy Governor by now! Source: Sentinel Assam 28th nov 2006
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