Fewer Bank Holidays In Maharashtra Next Year

Holiday-weary bank customers in Maharashtra will have something to cheer about in 2002. Come January, there will be 30 per cent fewer bank holidays in the next calendar year.

While there were 24 bank holidays this year, there will only be 17 next year. Maharashtra has curtailed four holidays in 2002, exercising the power conferred on the states by the central government under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Thus, the commercial banks in Maharashtra will have no holiday for the Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti, Parsi New Year and Bhau Beej next year.

There will also be no separate holidays for Sri Ram Navami, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti and Sri Buddha Purnima which have fallen on Sundays.

The finance ministry reportedly wanted to involve the Reserve Bank of India in determining the number of bank holidays but the central bank kept itself out of this politically sensitive issue.

Over the years, customers have been complaining about the increasing number of bank holidays notwithstanding the mushrooming of ATMs and rising popularity of net banking.

A senior banker pointed out that public holidays declared under the Negotiable Instruments Act have financial implications and are usually applicable to government institutions and banks only.

He pointed out the necessity of rationalising public holidays in the banking industry and said each employee should get the mandatory three national holidays (January 26, August 15 and October 2) and no more than five festival and other holidays as notified by the respective state governments.