PANAJI
Drawing attention to the plight of the mining affected borrowers in Goa, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) made a representation to Minister for Cooperation Govind Gaude and submitted a letter for extending the ‘one-time settlement scheme’ (OTS) of Goa government to cooperative banks and credit societies.
This scheme was introduced by the Goa government in 2014 and it expired on March 31, 2021. Under the scheme, 4574 mining affected borrowers had benefited from this scheme with a disbursal of Rs 98.63 crore from nationalised banks through EDC. However, many cases are still pending from loans taken from cooperative banks and credit societies which are reluctant to waive off part of the loans.
The letter reminds that the mining activity in the State came to a grinding halt in 2014. Stakeholders in barge related activities, earthmoving machinery and road transportation had invested huge sums in these businesses by taking loans from various financial Institutions. However, the closure of the mining operations resulted in huge financial losses to these borrowers, says the letter.
There were 4574 beneficiaries under this scheme and Rs 100 crore were disbursed. Most of these were from nationalised banks. The cooperative banks, private banks and cooperative societies were willing to waive off the accumulated interest but regretted the waiver of 35-35 % of the principal amount. The pending cases pertain to this category. The financial institutions have now initiated the recovery process which is adding to the financial woes of these borrowers.
GCCI has suggested extending the current OTS scheme up to March 31, 2022. Also, GCCI has requested the minister to find some avenue of funding to the financial institutions to whom the amount is owed, and/or look into the aspects of transferring these loans to nationalised banks. The letter also suggests one more option, of restructuring the loan in such a way that the upfront payment be paid in monthly installment and prorate rebate be provided. GCCI has issued a request of not initiating recovery proceedings by the banks until an amicable solution is reached.
The minister assured that the matter will be sorted out with the cooperative banks and registrar of cooperative societies.
