The elections of the leading urban cooperative bank of Uttarakhand- Almora Urban Cooperative Bank has been announced and it is scheduled for 23rd August. For reasons best known to the Chairman and CEO of the bank, the UCB is not willing to share details of the election schedule.
When Indian Cooperative correspondent phoned the bank Chairman Anand Singh Bagadwal to elicit his response on the elections, he refused to share the details and slammed the phone. Later, the bank’s CEO P C Tiwari also reacted similarly. The hush hush manner in which the election is being conducted falls beyond anybody’s comprehension.
For the benefits of the bank’s shareholders and for the sake of enhancing transparency and strengthening democratic practice in co-operative bodies, Indian Cooperative nevertheless got the election schedule and related details from independent sources.
According to the election schedule, the final list of voters will be published on 17th August and the candidates can file their nomination papers till 18th August. On the same day, the list will be published.
About hundred members of the bank have sent their consent for becoming the voters. From Almora 23 delegates have sent their names, from Dehradun 12, Haridwar 4 and so on. But the final list of voters would be published on 17th August 2021.
“The scrutiny of papers is scheduled for 20th August 2021 and the final list after scrutiny will be published on 21st August. After withdrawal the final list of candidates who will be in the race is likely to be made public on 21st August”, according to an election program released recently.
It further reads, the voting (if possible) will be held on 23rd August. After this the election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman and other representatives will be organized. The final result will be announced on 24th August 2021.
Meanwhile, one of the officials of the bank said that since the establishment of the bank, no election has been held. All board directors used to be elected unopposed.
The bank has earned a net profit of Rs 43.18 cr in the 2019-20 FY and has a network of 50 branches across the state. It offers high quality facilities to its customers from 26 ATMs. It is the first UCB in Uttarakhand which is a direct member of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).