Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) is paying Rs 3.5 crore per month as interest on a short-term loan due to the delay in auctioning the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) land, RTI documents have revealed.
The industries department’s delay in finalising the property consultant and auctioning off a portion of the 38.4 lakh sqm is bleeding GIDC of precious funds. In May 2019, GIDC took a short-term loan of Rs 200 crore from the Oriental Bank of Commerce to repay the seven SEZ promoters and was paying Rs 1.2 crore per month till December 2019.
“GIDC had a one-year moratorium on the repayment of the principal amount which ended in May 2020, post which GIDC will have to make monthly payments of approximately Rs 3.5 crore,” said a document obtained through RTI from GIDC’s accounts division.
GIDC chairman Glen Ticlo told that the corporation has commenced paying a higher instalment. “I will be meeting chief minister Pramod Sawant regarding auctioning of the SEZ land because we have to repay the loan,” Ticlo said.
On December 30, 2019, the industries department asked GIDC to auction the SEZ land in order to repay the loan.
“The government has decided that the auctioning of the SEZ land be done immediately within a time frame before the moratorium starts, which Goa-IDC will not be in a position to clear,” industries under-secretary A S Mahatme said in a subsequent letter in January.
The government then constituted a selection committee headed by the industries secretary and a monitoring committee headed by the industries minister to appoint a property consultant to auction the SEZ land.
GIDC officials say the search for a reputed property consultant is yet to begin because the industries department is yet to approve the tender document.
Last fortnight, Ticlo had said that the government’s constant interference in the functioning of GIDC is affecting the corporation’s efficiency.
