TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: A crucial meeting of bankers with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is scheduled on September 17, wherein it is expected to have a final call on the one time settlement (OTS) and interest waiver relief to the mining loan borrowers.
The meeting would be attended by nationalize banks, corporative banks and other financial institutes. As informed by Chief Minister, last week, during the meeting the banks are likely to submit their OTS proposals to the government. The total loan exposure with the banks is around 900 crores.
A senior official at the secretariat level confirmed that the meeting would resolve the OTS issue of the mining borrowers, for which government has been struggling for long. “Some banks have unofficially told government what their proposals would be. But still will have to wait for their final official proposal,” officer said.
Parrikar has already said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has no role to play in the OTS scheme, as it will be the decision of individual banks.
State government earlier this month announced debt relief scheme to the mining affected borrowers of financial institutions, as per which subsidy upto 35 per cent would be provided on total settlement amount. The scheme would be implemented once banks approve their OTS scheme.
The scheme offers a ceiling of Rs 15 lakh for truck owners, Rs 25 lakh for mining machinery owners and Rs 35 lakh for barge owners, as a subsidy against the total loan settlement amount, provided the loan was taken before September 30, 2012. Government has made provision of Rs 400 crore for the scheme.
The mining dependents are however not happy with the government scheme and are demanding that State should take over their entire loan liabilities, thus providing them soft loans. The borrowers claim that they don’t have balance 65 per cent to pay off the loan.
