Khalap's son Ashwin quits, Natekar new chairman of Mapusa Urban
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 09 September 2015 22:22 IST
Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank received yet another blow today with newly elected chairman Ashwin Ramakant Khalap stepping down within two months.
Gurudas Natekar was today elected the new chairman.
Ramakant Khalap, former chairman of the bank, claimed this is in interest of the progress of the bank.
Natekar also said he would take ahead the ideals of Khalap and run the bank.
The bank, having 23 branches all over with its head office in Mapusa, is celebrating a Golden Jubilee this year.
Sources in the bank however disclose that the BJP-led government has assured to help the bank to pull out from the crisis, provided the chairman is not from Khalap’s family.
Ashwin, son of Ramakant Khalap, was elected unopposed the new chairman on 14 July, as his father could not continue after two terms, as per the law.
Ramakant Khalap, his wife Nirmala and son Ashwin are the directors of the bank.
Soon after the election, the bank had received a major blow on 26 July, - within 12 days – with Reserve Bank of India laying restrictions on all the account holders not to allow withdrawing more than Rs 1000 from their accounts.
The decision had come in the background of Cash Credit Ratio (CCR) going negative, in violation of banking laws.
The bank had then managed to get a stay from the high court, but the RBI has now told the court that it cannot allow the bank to issue loans.
The final hearing and the order is expected tomorrow.
Perhaps in this background, the board has decided to replace Khalap with Natekar so that Goa government comes out positively in support of the bank.
Incidentally, similar situation had arisen in 2002, when the BJP was ruling the state, when Khalap had to step down, paving way for Francisco D’Souza, then minister in Manohar Parrikar government, becoming the new chairman.
The government then had helped the bank.
Khalap is also the political rival of chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar in Mandrem, initially as the MLA of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and now the Congress candidate.
The other directors of the bank are Tulio D’Souza, Ramesh Pankar, Mangaldas Naik, Babuso Hadfadkar, Michael Carros, Pradnya Naik and Shambhu Bhau Bandekar.
Ramakant Khalap who lectures us often on running govts., cooperatives, etc. has converted a cooperative Bank of Mapusa into his own Bank of Khalap. His wife, son, and he himself onboard for the last 20 years, and his kith and kins employed in various branches.
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