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Sick industry rehabilitation |
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News |
June 2, 2000
Dhaka, June 1 (UNB)- Despite Finance Minister’s goodwill, extension of the tenure of a special committee to review interest exemption on the loans of sick industries remained clogged in bureaucracy, entrepreneurs allege. Following a meeting with the Finance Minister last month, sick industry owners hoped that the tenure of the committee would be extended for another year in the next budget and cases of over Tk 50 lakh also be handed over to that committee. “But,” they apprehend, “the move for term extension and further empowerment of the committee may have hit snags in the Finance Ministry bureaucracy.”
Formed in 1998-99 fiscal year, the special committee headed by a retired judge so far has settled some 1142 cases, each valued Tk 50 lakh or less. It recommended measures for those sick industries to have an honorable exit and relevant banks to realise at least their principal amounts sanctioned against those units. But some 251 cases of above Tk 50 lakh each remained out of the purview of the body. Relevant banks were asked to settle those cases on the basis of bank-client relationship. “But not a single dispute involving over Tk 50 lakh in project loan could be settled so far,” said one owner. The special committee took over the responsibility of deciding the fate of over 2000 sick industries, left undecided by two previous committees for reconciliation and review. Those cases involved an amount of unpaid loans of about Tk 1200 crore with various banks. In last two years, it settled 1142 cases and helped banks recover some Tk 190 crore in principal amount and owners get rid of Tk 383 crore in interest on the stuck-up credits.
The tenure of special committee for interest waver will expire on June 30 this year. Business sources said the government had earlier favored a six-month extension of the tenure in the coming budget. But different trade bodies felt six months would not be enough to settle all the cases. They proposed that the tenure should extend for one more year to facilitate settlement of rest of the cases. They also appealed for the government to hand over the cases involving more than Tk 50 lakh to the committee also. A delegation of sick industries repeated the proposals to Finance Minister SAMS Kibria on May 14. The Minister was learnt to have been sympathetic to the demands taking a lenient view of the industrial debacle. But the file has not yet been proceeded to the upper desk in the Finance Ministry for immediate action as per assurance given by the Finance Minister. A sick industry spokesman said they had knocked several times the additional secretary, but could not make any headway. “Bureaucratic delays may hinder progress in implementation of the Finance Minister’s assurance this time,” he feared. “Still we’re hopeful about getting the committee extended and having it empowered to deal with cases involving more than Tk 50 lakh,” said Mirza Aboo Mansur, president of the Bangladesh Association of Promotion and Rehabilitation of Industries (BAPRI).
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