Friday, November 17, 2006

Indian Veteran & Life certificate for Pension

To day, 16 November 2006 is a red letter day in my life just as I was in the rock bottom of my spirits yesterday, 15 November 2006.
Let me explain the reason for my undue exhuberence to day compared to my down in the dumps feeling yesterday. Yesterday I visited the SBI, Los Angeles, California in down town Los Angeles in the plush Wells Fargo building at 700 Willshire Blvd, Los Angeles, in the most exclusive financial District of the Downtown. I was dismissed by a staff member when requested for a Life Certificate for the purposes of receiving my pension from the Controller General of Defence Accounts Pension, Allahabad saying: Pay up $20, take it or leave it. I thought it was ridiculous to charge $20 for a goverment requirement and the SBI is not only a govt bank but the Government is the major customer of the bank.
I thought my trip to Downtown had gone waste and since there was no other Public sector Bank in Los Angeles and also there are no Consulate of the Embassy of India in Los Angeles. The nearest consulate is in San Francisco. I had told the staff member that it makes no sense that I should make a payment of $20 for the requirement of the Government of India Department and it is not a commercial service I was seeking from them. Her argument was that others have paid the $20 and obtained the Life certificate from them and she showed me proof of such certificates issued and since there are no other public sector Bank or the Consulate, I have no choice left if I wanted to prove that I am alive to the Govt of India. I explained to the staff member that I am going to prove to their bank and also the Government of India that I am not dead and I am still alive.
I came home and send out a letter to CGDA with a copy to SBI, India, SBI, New York for Chief US Operations and CEO, SBI California.
Email to CGDA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From
Lt Col CPC Nath(Retd)
6830 woodley ave Apt #4
Van Nuys, California 91406
USA
Phone: 310 882 1945

To
 Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Draupadi Ghat, Allahabad - 211014 , INDIA

Copy to:
  1. Office of the Country Head (U.S. Operations) SBI
  2. CEO, SBI, Los Angeles California
  3. dgm.customer@sbi.co.in



Sir,
It is the government requirement that a public sector bank certifies that the pensioner is alive when he presents himself at the bank for getting the life certifcate signed once a year in November.It is not a commercial opportunity for the public sector bank to make some fast buck from the pensioner.

Is this appropriate ? Please raise your objection with SBI Headquarters immediately on this grossly inappropriate action on the part of the public sector bank for a service performed on behalf of another government department (CDA Pension). The amount of business SBI gets from the government treasury would lead one to believe that the service will be given free of cost to the Government Department. But some commercially smart official at SBI, USA had decided to make a fast buck for providing this service to another government department and is asking the pensioner to pay $20/= for a life certificate.

As a veteran having served the country and risked ones life continuously for 365 days for 22 years, I strongly object to this action on the part of SBI. It is the government requirement that a public sector bank certifies that the pensioner is alive when he presents himself at the bank for getting the life certifcate signed once a year in November. It is not a commercial opportunity for the public sector bank to make some fast buck from the poor pensioner.
I was shocked when the SBI, Los Angeles, California asked me for $20 (almost Rs 1000) for signing the life certificate. It is almost a months pension for an average veteran. It is the interest an average veteran pensioner would earn for keeping his one years pension with the Bank for couple of years.

Is this appropriate? Please raise your objection with SBI headquarters immediately on this grossly inappropriate action on the part of the public sector bank for a service performed on behalf of another government department (CDA Pension). The amount of business SBI gets from the government treasury would lead one to believe that the service will be given free of cost to the pensioner.

Pse take immediate action to raise objection with the SBI and resolve the issue. Till then, I refuse to pay $20 for the service SBI is performing for CDA Pension Allahabad.
regards
Lt Col CPC Nath(Retd)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->


To day, I received a call on my cell phone by none other than Ms. Shaila Patankar, the CEO of State Bank of India, California, an incorporated Bank in the state of California. She was apologising for the actions of her staff member and wanted to come to my home and meet me and apologise personally and deliver the certificate personally herself. (See below the Kamal of RTI Act I used to leverage the power to move the CEO). I thought it was too much for CEO of a California Bank to do that. Even her taking off time to talk to me itself was too much out of the way for a CEO and that I am honoured by her call this morning. She wanted to note down my particulars so that they can prepare the Life Certificate. I insisted that that I JUST CAN NOT expect a CEO to note down my particulars herself and I insisted that she ask a staff member to come on line so that I can give all details including my name, rank, PPO order, Bank Account and Bank name and Branch in India etc. I provided all the details and now she is despatching the certificate by mail to my home.
She further apologised to me for the mishap. I asked her that the way a veteran was treated yesterday was unheard of in USA where veterans are treated with respect. I asked whether she knew how much a US veteran was charged for a Life Certificate? Obviously she did not know. I told her that it cost the veteran nothing at all.
I also added: "I did not need your verification to prove to myself that I am not dead and I know that I am alive. Also, I have already filed a Request to Information under Right to Information Act 2005 and I am seeking information on the following:

# The original document of orders under which I was being charged $20 by SBI California for the life certificate required by the Government of India Ministry of Defence CGDA ?
# The detailed logic as per your internal decision making process under which the decision to charge $20 for Indian Defence pensioners was taken.

Now I am waiting for the certificate to arrive by mail. My RTI request can be seen here:
RTI Request of CPC Nath



 Reply
fromCPC
hide details Nov 16 (1 day ago)

tosbilaa@yahoo.com

ccdgm.customer@sbi.co.in

date
Nov 16, 2006 12:18 PM

subject
REQUEST UNDER Government of India RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2005

mailed-by
gmail.com

Lt Col C P C Nath(Retd)

Phone: 310 882 1945, email: cpcnath@gmail.com

6830 Woodley Ave Apt# 4

Van Nuys, CA 91406


To
Ms. Shaila Patankar,

Central Public Information Officer(CPIO) designated in SBI

Under Right to Information Act 2005 (as per SBI Web site)

707 Wilshire Blvd.,
19th Floor Suite 1995,
LosAngeles, California - U.S.A.
CA 90017
Tel : (00-1) - 213 623 4022 , 323 934 5285
Fax :213 622 2069

Subject: REQUEST UNDER Government of India RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2005


Madam,

1. I, IC-17081, Lt Col CPC Nath (Retd) was commissioned into the Army on 15 june 1966. I retired from Army on 1 February 1988. I have been drawing my pension as a retired veteran from a Public Sector Bank as required by the M of D Controller General of Defence Accounts Pensions Allahabad.

2. It is a requirement of the Ministry of Defence CGDA that I present myself to the nearest Public Sector Bank and get a life certificate as per the M of Defence directive. As per this directive, I presented myself to validate that I am alive on this day so that the Public Sector bank official can sign authoritatively on the life certificate which can be verified by CGDA to their satisfaction. This is not a commercial service I am seeking from the SBI for which the bank can charge me commercial rates applicable in California area. If it were a commercial requirement, then Bank of America, who is my Bankers could have certified that I am alive free of cost to me. I was just fulfilling the requirements of M of Defence CGDA as they would much rather trust you as their major government banker. Your Bank official refused to sign a life certificate unless I pay $20 (almost Rs 1000/=), which I was told is the commercial rates applicable in Los Angeles Area as the SBI local office is a California incorporated entity and hence California commercial rates are applicable to me. Instead of using my visit to develop good relationship with the NRI as required under the charter of SBI, an Indian pensioner is being fleeced by charges arbitrarily determined by your organisation. I was not seeking a service under the California law or the federal laws of USA or under the services obligated by you to provide under the mandatory FDIC insurance etc.

Please arrange to provide the following information under the Indian statutes viz. Government of India RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2005 the following information:

  1. The original document of orders under which I was being charged $20 for the life certificate required by the Government of India Ministry of Defence CGDA ?
  2. The detailed logic as per your internal decision making process under which the decision to charge $20 for Indian Defence pensioners was taken.

I am seeking this information under the RTI of India and not the federal statutes of USA or the state of California and hence the charges applicable for the RTI 2005 should apply. In case the RTI 2005 as passed by the Government of India is NOT applicable to you, please pass this RTI request to your Prinicipal in India as they are governed by the time duration by which I must get the information sought under the RTI Act 2005.


I will make necessary arrangements to make the payment in $ converting the amount chargeable under RTI Act 0f 2005 to your office immediately on receipt of the details of the amount. Please let me know the amount by email.

Yours Sincerely,

Lt Col CPC Nath(Retd)



posted by CPC Nath at 4:19 AM

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