Kangra co-op bank threw loan rules to the wind: Vigilance

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 27

Glaring financial irregularities and procedural lapses have been detected in the inquiry being conducted by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau into an increase in bad loans of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank.

The scrutiny of the records revealed that the process for disbursing loans was not followed, property located outside the state was mortgaged for advancing loans, the opinion of the subordinate staff regarding the justification of loans was ignored by the loan committee and properties were mortgaged by inflating the actual value, sources in the vigilance said.

In a special case, property worth Rs 6 lakh was mortgaged for Rs 4 crore loan which turned into NPA while another property in Punjab was mortgaged in violation of bylaws which clearly state that only property within the state can be mortgaged.

The Vigilance Bureau has seized the loan records and is examining these to detect the cases in which irregularities are suspected and new Chairman of the bank Rajiv Bharadwaj has said irregularities will be probed and responsibility of erring officials be fixed. The NPAs of the bank have touched Rs 700 crore, which is about 18 per cent, and the probe was initiated by the BJP government after coming to power. It was one of the allegations in the chargesheet submitted against the previous Congress government, when it was in the Opposition.

The role of chartered accountants and architects, who were allegedly instrumental in preparing the documents for seeking loans and evaluating the properties, is also under lens and their alleged connivance is also being probed, bureau sources said. The BJP government had removed the chairman and dissolved the Board of Directors of the bank and Rajiv Bharadwaj was appointed Chairman of NPA-ridden bank on November 3, 2018.

What records reveal

• The process for disbursing loans was not followed
• Property located outside the state was mortgaged for advancing loans 
• The opinion of the subordinate staff was ignored by the loan committee
• Properties were mortgaged by inflating the actual value
• Bylaws say only property within the state can be mortgaged for loan 
• A property worth Rs 6 lakh was mortgaged for Rs 4 crore loan which turned into NPA while another property in Punjab was mortgaged in violation of bylaws which clearly state that bylaws were violated