Bankers in Goa are yet to submit their formal applications to the State government expressing their willingness to implement the debt-relief scheme for mining dependents.
The scheme was meant to allow relief to loanees of overdue advances with an option of one-time settlement with 35 per cent subsidy from the State.
After sustained pressure from large number of mining dependents, the scheme was recently notified by the State government. Mining in the State has been halted for over two years, and as a result truckers, barge-owners, and mining machinery owners, who have borrowed loan from banks, have been affected.
Commercial banks are unsure of the scheme, and the cooperative banks have already declined to implement it. The total principal outstanding amounts to Rs.680 crores, though the current over dues have crossed Rs.2000 crores, bankers say.
President of Goa Barge Owners Association Atul Jadhav told The Hindu on Tuesday that they were hopeful that the banks would take up the scheme.
According to him five banks have shown interest in the scheme. The total NPA-ridden barge loans are Rs.275 crores.
Sources in State Bank of India indicated on Tuesday that their Board has accorded approval for the scheme just a couple of days back.
Facing notices for recovery from bankers for the mounting NPAs, the Goa Truck Owners Association has given a fresh deadline to the State government to resolve the issue by December 10 as the trucks are out
of work for nearly two years.
The government had in the past intervened to ensure that bankers do not adopt coercive methods to recover their overdue advances from the mining dependents.
The State government has made a provision of Rs.400crore for the debt-relief scheme in its current State budget
