Kangra coop bank managers, loan panel, evaluators indicted for NPAs

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, January 17

The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has finalised the inquiry report into bad loans extended by the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) during the stint of previous Congress government.

Sources said the inquiry had indicted bank managers, members of loan sanctioning committee of the previous board of the KCCB and evaluators for a criminal conspiracy for extending risky loans that caused losses to the bank.

SP Vigilance S Arul Kumar admitted that the inquiry had been completed. The report would be sent to head office after which directions would be issued.

SP, refused to divulge the names of the accused.

The Vigilance Bureau had confiscated the record regarding the bad loans extended in November 2018. The inquiry into bad loans given by the bank during the stint of the previous Congress government had been initiated by the Vigilance Bureau on the basis of chargesheet of the BJP prepared before the Assembly elections.

In the chargesheet, the BJP had alleged that the bank management, headed by the previous chairman of the bank Jagdish Sapiya, had extended loans in violation of norms that have now turned into bad debts and have caused losses to the KCCB. Sources here said the Vigilance had confiscated records of loans extended to UR Sinter, Yudh Chand Bains and Crest Steel in Una district and RL Belvedere in Palampur.

The sources said a loan of Rs 62.72 crore extended to a steel unit in Amb area of Una had turned out to be an NPA. Similarly, the Palampur branch of the bank had taken over a bad loan of a bank and the account now was an NPA.

The loan given to the Palampur based hotel had been a bone of contention between the former board of directors of the bank.

The former MD of the bank PC Akela, in his report submitted to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur a few months ago, had also raised question mark over the Rs 1.30-crore cash credit limit (CCL) extended by the bank to Chunni Lal Chauhan, brother of Anand Chauhan, an LIC agent and accused in corruption cases registered by the CBI against former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. The loan was now an NPA and Chunni Lal Chauhan owes Rs 1.29 crore to the bank.

The MD in his report has said Credit Monitoring Arrangements (CMA) norms of the RBI were violated while granting the loan. The MD had stated in his report that as per norms circulated by NABARD to cooperative banks the financing of individuals by cooperative banks with ‘A’ rating would be Rs 60 lakh, with ‘B’ rating Rs 40 lakh and with ‘C’ rating Rs 25 lakh. The CCL limit of Rs 1.30 crore to Anand Chauhan was a violation of the CMA norms for the cooperative banks.

The MD has also raised a question mark over Rs 62.72 crore loan and the CCL to Crest Steels, Una, that has been NPA since November 30, 2016, and Rs 18.74 crore to RS Belvedre, Palampur, that was also an NPA account.

Loan records seized

• The Vigilance had confiscated records of loans extended to UR Sinter, Yudh Chand Bains and Crest Steel in Una district and RL Belvedere in Palampur
• The loan of Rs 62.72 crore extended to a steel unit in Amb area of Una has turned a bad loan 
• Question mark had been raised over Rs 1.30-crore CCL extended to Chunni Lal Chauhan, brother of Anand Chauhan, an LIC agent and accused in the CBI case against Virbhadra Singh