The properties of former minister Ganta Srinivas Rao will go under the hammer. Indian Bank will e-auction properties of former HRD minister and incumbent Vizag North MLA Ganta Srinivas Rao’s Pratyusha Resources and Infra Private Limited for defaulting on loans to the tune of Rs 142 crore on April 16. Ganta as the director of Pratyusha Resources and Infra Private Limited had stood guarantor of the company for the loan.
The bank had first served a notice in 2016. Subsequently, the bank had served several notices but the company had failed to clear the loan and after interest it has accumulated to more than Rs 210 crore. The bank had served notices under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Estates and Enforcement of Security Interest Act 2002 to Ganta Srinivas, P Raja Rao representing Pratyusha Resources and Infra Private Limited, P V Prabhakar Rai among others.
The Vizag Branch of the Indian Bank will initiate the process of auction of the flat belonging to Ganta in Balayya Sastry Layout along with properties of nine others on March 16. Default by Ganta Srinivas Rao is just a tip of the proverbial iceberg.
In Andhra Pradesh, there could be at least 100 big industrialists and high-profile borrowers who defaulted to the tune of several thousand crores. Lagadapati Rajagopal, promoter of Lanco Group and former Congress MP, tops the list of defaulters from Andhra Pradesh. Rajagopal, owes at least Rs 30,000 crore to various banks. TDP MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao had defaulted in repayment of loans to the tune of Rs 300 crore. Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation had raided the MP’s offices and his properties after a complaint by a consortium of banks led by the Union Bank of India to CBI Banking Securities and Fraud Cell. Consortium alleged that construction firm Transstroy (India) Limited. Investigations found that huge money was transacted and diverted to Transstroy Singapore PTE Limited. Rayapati’s Transstroy company has taken loans to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore from various financial institutions. In the past, Andhra Bank had served a notice to Rayapati for defaulting in payment of Rs 434 crore to the bank. Former Congress MP Venkatrami Reddy’s “Deccan Chronicle” group is another big loan defaulter who owes Rs 4,500 crore to various banks.
Vijay Mallya, the poster boy of defaults, had left India after bleeding the public sector banks to the tune of Rs 7,500 crore. Diamantaire Nirav Modi, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are accused of masterminding one of the biggest banking frauds amounting to around Rs 14,000 crore. Such big defaults have crippled the Indian banking system. In the last three years, the Indian banking system has lost Rs 1.76 lakh crore on account of non-performing loans of 416 defaulters – each owing Rs 100 crore or more – being written off.
