Unavailability of licensed armed guards in the market is posing a major hurdle for nationalised banks in providing adequate security measures to their branches.
“Police is not giving enough armed guard licences to private companies. So, there is a shortage of good security force in the market, even when we want to hire more security personnel despite a recruitment freeze,” said Captain Chidambaram, chief security officer of Indian Overseas Bank.
But of what use will a mere guard be if he is not given some firearm, question bank officials. With maximum number of branches the cost incurred by nationalised banks for such installations is far higher compared to private ones. “Yet we are doing it on a priority basis based on the location and volume of transactions in branches,” said an official of Indian Bank.
Citing steep price rise of CCTV cameras owing to shortage of hard disc drives from Thailand, the IOB official said, “We are bound by Central Vigilance Commission norms and it is difficult to shell out extra money when suppliers jack up prices from `4,000 to `20,000 for a camera within a span of five months.”
Bank officials also raise questions about why the local police is not following a daily patrolling system in the branches as it is done in cities like Mumbai, where a police patrol register is maintained by the cops making the rounds. “Though not a great security measure, this will surely instil some fear in the minds of criminals,” said Capt Chidambaram.
Though Reserve Bank of India is yet to take a call on making the security installations mandatory across branches, RBI regional director Mr N.S. Vishwanathan, averred that there was no freeze on recruitment of security guards. However, regarding policy changes, the call rests with the head office, he added.