MUMBAI, May 26: The RBI has agreed to extend insurance cover for small depositors in finance companies demanded by the five-member BJP delegation led by the party general-secretary Promod Mahajan to protect the interest of small depositors in the CRB Capital Markets Ltd. Kirith Somiya, BJP MLA, who has been spearheading the CRB investors agitation claimed today that the RBI has accepted three demands made by the delegation.

The central bank has agreed to create a seperate cell of either the RBI or the official liquidator in Mumbai to look after the small investors problems. The delegation demanded opening of special branches of official liquidator of CRB at Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Rajkot to enable the creditors, small depositors and others lodge their claims.

Secondly, the RBI agreed to co-ordinate various efforts of government agencies involved in the multicrore CRB scam viz the RBI, State Bank of India (SBI), Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Department of Company Affairs, stock exchanges, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the police to nab the culprits.

Mahajan said the demand was made for the RBI to work as a co-ordinating agency for taking action against those responsible and helping small investors recover their money. ``We will meet the finance minister in the first week of June requesting him to evolve a permanent mechanism for dealing with such situations ,'' he added.

The RBI also agreed to consider extending the insurance cover available to small depositors in banks to the small depositors in finance companies.The delegation appealed to RBI Governor C Rangarajan to hold an inquiry into the private placement of fully secured redeemable power bonds by CRB Corporation.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.