TEAM HERALD
The mining stakeholders including truck and barge owners, machinery operators and other dependents owe Rs 400 crore loan (including interest) to cooperative banks in the State.
In the last week of June, Government began an exercise to offset loans of mining dependents, whose borrowings amount to Rs 1,000 crore, to rid them of bad debts.
In the second round of meeting held on Monday morning, the cooperative sector banks informed Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar their reluctance to waive off full loan interest as it would result into financial loss to the banks. The sector offered 50 percent waiver, which government apparently did not agree to.
The meeting, which was attended by mining officials, cooperative banks representatives and mining stakeholders, remained inconclusive, with another meeting being scheduled for July 14.
Sources confirmed that the government had requested cooperative and commercial banks to waive off full loan interest from the time the mining activity has stopped till June 2014. Government had proposed to step in to help the people by assisting them to pay some amount of the loan, if banks give one-time settlement (OTS) option along with waiver of interest.
“The cooperative banks, which are already facing financial crunch due to non-payment of loan by mining dependents for past 20 months, would face more crisis if given full interest wavier. They are ready to waive off loan interest upto 50 percent,” sources disclosed. AGBOA president Atul Jadav refusing to disclose any details of the meeting said, “The meet has been re-scheduled for July 14, where the coop banks would put up their proposal.”
