--- OPEN HEART WITH SAAI (Episode-1)--- **SHOCKING FIRST EXPERIENCE AS OFFICER IN ANDHRA BANK** As services dept. in-charge I have to take-up the auction of Zonal Managers the then existing Ambassador car as a new car is allotted to ZM by H.O. As I am new to the services dept. I have taken all precautions to see that the auction could take place smoothly. Our ZMs car driver repeatedly requested me as well as other Z.O. officials including ZM to do him a favour in purchasing the car as he wants the car to run it on hire through his brother. But we clearly appraised him that we are selling the car through auction by way of Sealed Tenders and there is no scope for us to do him any favour. Instead I suggested him to offer a good price to the car through the sealed tender, as he very well knew the condition of the car. On the scheduled date one of the auction committee officials has opened the tenders in the presence of ZM and AGM in ZM’s cabin. I along with all the bidders (I think total 4 biddrs) present in the cabin. The officer who opened the tenders called out the name of the bidder and the amount of bid on opening each sealed cover by him and I recorded those particulars. As told by us Z.O. car driver has offered good price and his bid is the highest and the tender is settled in his favour. At the end of the tender process I suggested the officer to show all the bids (tender papers) to all the bidders present there so that there should not be any doubt in the minds of the bidders as the bid settled in favour of our own office car driver’s brother. But he politely refused my suggestion saying that it is not necessary as the process is presided by the entire tender committee. None of the bidders also insisted for the same. All bidders left the cabin after collecting back their bid money DD (Rs.5,000/- is the bid money by way bank draft). I thought there ended the matter. But AGM told the ZM that he wants to cancel the entire tender process without specifically revealing reasons for the same. I am surprised at AGM’s stand as tender process is a very lengthy one starting from giving an add in at least two local dailies (one English and one local language) till the opening of tenders and after all there is no guarantee that we will get the minimum offer price. Here we have got good price and the tender is completed smoothly and the AGM is refusing to accept the tender process without revealing any reason to me. On my insistence finally after one or two hours AGM told me that out of the 4 or 5 tenders received one is without mentioning the bid amount. It seems our car driver was advised to offer one more tender (leaving the bid amount column blank) along with the regular one, so that in the event of any other bidder quotes more than that of him, the blank tender can be filled with more than that highest bid amount. I was stunned to hear this fact from AGM and it is really shocking for me, because I never expected such an act from the Zonal Office of a public sector bank. Even though I am in-charge of the dept. who has taken care of all the formalities to finish the tender process in a smooth manner, I was also kept in dark by other Z.O. official / officials in trying to favour a small individual like Zonal Managers car driver to win the bid at the same time greatly risking the bank’s image. I don’t know whether any confidential report sent to H.O. on this matter. But to my knowledge nobody has been punished on this irregularity. Even though I am very much ashamed to bring these facts to the notice of the public (I may also accumulate some sin for revealing this), why I have chosen it is for the following reasons but not to blame any individuals. 1) It reveals the state of affairs in government offices due to the foolish decisions of a few selfish / innocent officials. Institution will not gain anything out of these decisions. 2) A few government officials are not applying their mind while taking such huge risks for extending even small favours to a very small person like office car driver. By this we can assume to what extent these procedures can be violated if the favour is to be extended to the ZM himself instead of his car driver. 3) In the present case the officer who has chosen this risky way to favour an individual liked by him has put the bank in a big danger. Had anyone of the bidders want to see the tender papers while opening them itself, what is the fate of the Zone in a foreign state. 4) The bidders are offering their bids (duly taking all pains to complete the bid formalities including arranging bid money, spending DD commission and sparing lot of time for attending to these formalities) with lot of hope that every one of them is having a fair chance to win the bid in his favour. But we the well educated, well secured, well paid, well respected in society are behaving like fools and cheating the innocent public in this manner. We should also understand that every moment one of our family members also getting cheated in the above manner by one of our colleagues, because all our family members are not well secured government employees like us. One may be a farmer, one may be a businessman, one may be a self-employed, one may be a student and the other may be a house wife. So if we take it collectively we are cheating our own family members for a very small price in many cases. 5) I am afraid bank officials are taking these things very lightly as they are already habituated to live with untruth for the past so many years in the name of claiming their perks / allowances / some other such benefits by submitting fake bills and declarations. From the above, what I want to convey to entire government employee community that a few employees are very casually taking very high risks knowingly or unknowingly and entire government employee community is blamed alike by public. It is high time for the rest of the employee community not to keep quiet and see that such incidents should not be repeated in the hands of those few. --- OPEN HEART WITH SAAI (Episode-2) --- *** UNWANTED HIGH RESPECT TO SUPERIORS *** A highly delivering / hardworking / knowledgeable / nice / friendly Zonal Manager was forced to avoid taking best decision at least in two cases of new premises for shifting of two branches of the zone. It is purely due to his high respect towards his superiors and his hesitation in disobeying recommendations from them (an executive from H.O. and a top union leader in these cases). I felt very sad at least on two occasions where ZM unwillingly finalised renewal / new premises proposals for shifting of two branches in the zone. One proposal is influenced by a GM of H.O. in which entire branch staff is against continuation in the existing premises as the existing landlord not only demanded exorbitant hike in rent but also created all sorts of nuisance in the branch as branch has not agreed for his demand for a steep hike in rent. Because of the pressure from a H.O. executive, Zonal Office unable to take up an attractive alternate proposal offered by another landlord just opposite to the existing premises. As the then existing branch manager not at all favoured continuation in the existing premises, the BM has been transferred from the branch and the branch lease was renewed under the manager-ship of a new BM, even though new BM was also very reluctant to renew the lease at the rent finally agreed by the landlord as it was still higher than the then prevailing rents in the locality. Had the ZM taken a little risk and appraised the said GM about the ground reality and why he could not obey his instructions / recommendation, things would have been different for him. The second proposal was about finalising a premises for a branch, which was decided to be shifted. Due to the recommendation of a top union leader ZM was forced to finalise a premises which was situated in a lane but not on the main road. Here also ZM would have gently convinced the said union leader why his recommendation can’t be considered. --- OPEN HEART WITH SAAI (Episode-3) --- *** BYPASSING LAID DOWN PROCEDURES IN THE INTEREST OF THE BANK *** Bypassing laid down procedures in the interest of the bank: One more important experience with the same ZM I don’t want to miss to mention here. Our ZO premises is our bank owned premises. In those days lot of papers and files getting accumulated in the office every quarter due to the dependency of banks on hard copies only for any information from branches like weekly TDLs, monthly/quarterly returns, etc. As every department’s file-racks / store wells are piled up with the papers and files, we have urgently needed a fresh storage place to shift all these used papers and files. We have a very big store room in the ground floor but completely filled with obsolete papers / files / hard-ware items, etc. If we can empty this room we can get fresh storage space for at least another 3 to 4 years. But if we go by the existing guidelines of the bank, an officer has to verify each and every paper / file existed there and has to record them in a register and then only they have to be destroyed if they are eligible to be destroyed forever. As a full truck load of papers and files existed there, it is impossible to do that. Not only that the officer will fell permanently sick if he exposed to the dust surrounded those files and papers. Then I told the ZM that if any important files are there they would never had been shifted into such garbage piled-up in a store room. On my first hand verification of the papers all are appears to be very routine papers and files, which can be destroyed without any hesitation. For that matter even if an important paper is there in that garbage, it is impossible to be identified and retrieved. Such is the position there. Accordingly he permitted us to destroy the entire garbage lying in the store room duly putting up his sanction on the note put up by our department. Had he insisted us to follow the laid down procedures in this case we would never have fulfilled that mission. After destroying the garbage we have directly shifted the entire things to a paper factory through an approved vendor. In this case we have realised more than Rs.80,000/- by selling this obsolete items. This we could do only because of our collective decision in the interest of the bank. Friends, we need to be flexible at times in the interest of the institution but not in the interest of ourselves i.e., for our own / our friends / relatives promotions, transfers, placements etc. --- OPEN HEART WITH SAAI (Episode-4) --- *** LACK OF COURAGE TO QUESTION THE WRONG DECISIONS OF BOSSES COSTED VERY HEAVILY *** On transfer to Eluru zone I have been posted to Venkatarayapuram branch, the only scale-IV branch in the zone by then. It seems a good feedback about me has been received by Z.O.-Eluru from some close quarters of my earlier office. As such they told me that they are ready to post me to their services dept. if I am willing. But I was not dared to accept the offer due to some unpleasant situations I have already experienced in my earlier tenure as detailed above. The above episodes have created an unwelcome gap between me and my bosses, even though I am in no way responsible for the same. I don’t want to experience the similar unpleasant situations again. Unlike in branches in Zonal Offices, once our relations with the top bosses sour, we will become soft targets for all others to encash the situation by them to become close to those top bosses, because all these people are solely dependent on these bosses for all their career needs like promotions, transfers, better placements, etc. At that time I am totally averse to participate in such unpleasant situations and arguments. If I had at least 10% of the courage what I am showing now in questioning the wrong moves of my bosses, I would have welcomed their offer to take up the services dept. at Z.O. This posting to Venkatarayapuram branch also very peculiarly happened. Originally I requested for a posting at Bhimavaram, which is near to my native place. But AGM offered me Vempa, a rural branch as it is also near to my native place. I expressed my heartiest thanks to him for accepting my request to post me to near to my native place, which is very helpful for me to attend to my ailing father-in-law who is recovering from a mild heart stroke. My response immediately changed AGM’s mind and he struck Vempa and wrote VR Puram on my transfer order and posted me to VR Puram branch saying that my CAIIB and good record at my earlier office should not get wasted in a rural branch. He further added that VR Puram BM has requested him to post a good officer to his branch. It seems VR Puram branch manager also requested AGM to post me to his branch as I have worked with him as clerk in a branch where he is sub-manager of the branch (I have intimated to him about my transfer to Eluru zone). Going against the decision of HIM costed me very heavily at VR Puram branch, which I will narrate in my future episodes.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 12:01:55 +0000
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