Bank defaults above Rs 1 crore touch Rs 7,300 crore in Andhra

The Andhra Pradesh Bank Employees' Federation (APBEF) today released the list of all the defaulters of Rs 1-crore and above to the public sector banks in Andhra Pradesh, in both suit filed cases and non-suit filed accounts.

According to B S Rambabu, general secretary of APBEF, there are around 750 accounts from the state with a total defaulted amount of Rs 4,500 crore where suits were already filed.

Also, there were 100 other cases with aggregating defaults of over Rs 2,800 crore where suits were yet be filed, as at the end of March, 2004.

Expressing serious concern over the alarming increase of non-performing assets of public sector banks, Rambabu demanded the government to attach the personal properties of all the directors of defaulting companies.

He further demanded that all the loan defaulters be debarred from occupying any public offices right from sarpanch level. He said that the government should bring necessary amendments to laws to recover bad debts of willful defaulters and also treat their act as criminal offence.

"While the defaulted companies were required to deposit up to 75 per cent of the disputed amount in the court as per the earlier provisions of the Act, the relaxed provisions now require them to deposit only 10 per cent amount. This should be raised at least to a level of 50 per cent," he said.

According to the list released by the APBEF, Siris Limited tops the defaulters' list with an amount of Rs 115.67 crore.

Others include: Kitti Steels Ltd (Rs 105.63 crore), Nagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd (Rs 70.39 crore), Kay Quinone Organics (I) Ltd (Rs 64.96 crore), Sanghi Industries Ltd (Rs 61.32 crore), Tungabhadra Industries Ltd (Rs 52.85 crore), Samura Maritime Trade Ltd (Rs 52.40 crore), Shri Shakthi LPG Ltd (Rs 51.11 crore), SOL Pharma Ltd (Rs 50.62 crore), Galada Power & Telecommunications Ltd (Rs 43.65 crore), Kumar Metallurgical Corporation Limited (Rs 43.62 crore), Suchitra Teletubes Limited (Rs 39.59 crore).