November 19, 2014
Centre responsible for delay in passing Chit Fund Bill: Partha Chatterjee
The West Bengal Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Bill, meant for the investors of chit funds cannot be implemented due to the delay in getting nod from the Centre.
According to Dr Partha Chatterjee, parliamentary affairs minister, the Bill was sent to the erstwhile home minister Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde on 13 May 2013, but the state government did not receive any intimation from the Centre. Significantly the TMC government has sent three letters to the then government, but the Centre did not respond to any of them.
On 26 September 2014, the TMC government has sent another letter to home minister Mr Rajnath Singh, but he too did not reply to the letter.
Earlier the Centre has rejected the Bill and sought clarifications on certain points .The three points on which clarifications were sought include widening of powers of special designated courts and that no court could grant anticipatory bail as well as a suggestion by the Centre for adding a new provision for compounding offences.
The Bill formulated by the Trinamul Congress government was passed in the state Assembly on 30 April in a two-day special session. It was submitted to the central government for Presidential assent.
Dr Chatterjee said that the state government is already keen on implementing the Bill, if the Centre gives a green signal. He added that the chit fund menace started during the CPI-M regime and so there is a need to probe how many chit fund companies are operating in the state from 1980.
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