Letter to the Board of Directors

Hon’ble Member                                                                06/05/2013

Board of Directors                               

NABARD

Mumbai

Respected Sir,

Request for a favourable Intervention and Audience

With due regards and all humility, We, on behalf of all the officers of NABARD, draw your kind attention to the following and solicit your favourable intervention in the larger interest of the organization-

1. NBOA, has, from the very inception of the issue, has been opposing the move of NABARD management recommending to GoI to alter the top level managerial structure of NABARD, by replacing Chairman-MD-ED structure by CMD-DMD structure. Besides the inherent and well acknowledged corporate draw backs of CMD-DMD structuring the move has also resulted in jeopardizing the career prospects of NABARD officers and large scale de-motivation and frustration at the highest levels.

We, therefore, once again urge upon you to reconsider the earlier decision of the BoDs and recommend to GoI to retain the present top level structure of NABARD i.e. Chairman-MD-ED level structuring.

2. We have also noted, with great concern, the reported move of the present management to downgrade Regional Offices, Sub Offices and DDMs offices of NABARD on some alibi or the other. In fact in the past one year the bank has been on a spree of closing the offices (Ex.BIRD, Lucknow etc.) and close down as many as 11 departments, all in the name of BCG recommendations, which has never been debated or made public-internally or externally. The reported move of manning the Regional Offices with GMs instead of CGMs, Sub Offices by DGMs instead of GMs and DDM offices by grade ‘A’ officers instead of grade C/senior grade ‘B’ officers, will all lead to dilution of stature and corporate image of NABARD as also sacrificing of the quality and matured decision making-which usually comes with experience and seniority at different levels. DDM offices, which are unique and well acclaimed initiative of NABARD, will be the worst hit, as the grade’A’ officers being posted to these Single-man Residential Cum Office Units of NABARD, will usually do not carry enough experience and corporate wisdom as is required to effectively carry out the job profile mandated for a DDM. We would like to indicate that LDM office in district is headed by a scale III/IV officer from Commercial Banks and the district level interaction generally require our DDMs to deal with Chairman of RRBs, CEOs of DCCBs, senior IAS and State Administrative services officers, besides the Peoples representatives and NGOs.  More so, way back, when DDM offices were conceived the then management has assured the NBOA that it would lead to corporate expansion and better career progression for officers from junior to middle management level. Thus, the present move of posting grade’A’ officers to District offices, that too, without initiating any discussions with NBOA, is a retrograde step which may even lead to making the DDM offices ineffective and redundant over the years. Sir, we would also like to point the plight of at least 400 officers of NABARD who are languishing in grade ‘C’ and Grade ‘B’ levels for more than a decade or so without any prospective career progression and most of these officers are Direct Recruit officers. The present organizational restructuring moves of the bank, coupled with the draconian promotion policy - which we were constrained to challenge in the court of law - will all but end the scope of any career progression for almost 1000 officers in next 10 years or so.  Ironically, the present management has not given any credence to the process of participatory and conflict resolution based management and administration, which has resulted into a large scale discontentment in the organization which unfortunately has lead to strained Industrial Relations.

We, therefore, urge upon you, not to allow shrinking of the organizational structure through downgrading and closure of offices/departments of NABARD and direct the top executives to enter into a meaningful dialogue with NBOA so as to amicably resolve all the issues facing our great organization.

We, also, very humbly, seek the audience of the full BoDs, as per the boards convenience, but at an early date, so that we can put forth for your kind consideration our point of views on the issues of topical importance to NABARD.

Thanking you

Yours Sincerely

(Dr D .S. Chauhan)

General Secretary