Former MLA’s loan settled under Kangra coop bank’s one-time resolution policy

The one-time settlement policy has helped reduce the non-performing assets (NPA) of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) from 15.31 per cent as on March 31, 2022, to 7.15 per cent on March 31, 2024, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while participating in a debate on corruption in the Vidhan Sabha here today.

BJP’s Naina Devi MLA Randhir Sharma had alleged that the government had given special favours to a former Congress MLA by waiving about Rs 3.5 crore of his total loan, which amounted corruption. The BJP had demanded an inquiry into the waiver of the loan of former Congress MLA Satpal Raizada under the one-time settlement policy of the bank.

The Chief Minister said that KCC Bank had launched the one-time settlement policy for one year from September 9, 2022, to September 9, 2023. The permission of the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, for the policy was taken on August 23. The Registrar had given approval to the policy on a condition that it should be 100 per cent non-discretionary and non-discriminatory, which meant that no application could be rejected if it was within the framework of the policy.

Under the policy, former MLA Satpal Raizada had submitted an application to the bank on September 6, 2023. He had two accounts and one of which was closed on December 5, 2023, while the other was closed the next day.

Sukhu said that due to this policy, the bank’s NPAs reduced from Rs 1,247 crore to Rs 1,040 crore and the number of NPA accounts also fell by 7,262. The bank’s net NPAs were 15.31 per cent on March 31, 2022, and it reduced to 7.15 per cent on March 31, 2024, he added.