Punjab Cabinet extends one-time settlement for PSIDC, PFC loanees till December

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the move was necessary as the industries needed support in these difficult times. The policy will give the entrepreneurs of promoted and loanee companies one-time opportunity for settlement of their dues with PSIDC and PFC, and will help them recover Rs 10 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively.

To give relief to businesses amid the COVID pandemic, the Punjab Cabinet on Monday decided to extend the one-time settlement of their dues with the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) and Punjab Financial Corporation till December 31. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the move was necessary as the industries needed support in these difficult times.

The policy will give the entrepreneurs of promoted and loanee companies one-time opportunity for settlement of their dues with PSIDC and PFC, and will help them recover Rs 10 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively. The move would help in releasing the blocked industrial investment and assets and enable the state to put the same to productive use for the revival of the existing industries, which had been shut down after the lockdown in March, said a government statement here. It would also help in reducing litigation with respect to loans. The decision to extend the OTS has been taken in view of the problems being faced by companies and collaborators on account of the lockdown and economic slowdown triggered by the pandemic.        They were finding it difficult to pay the instalments due to PSIDC/PFC and had requested for extension for repayment. The Union Ministry of Finance has already issued instructions to the RBI to give deferment of six months in repayment of loan instalments.         However, the interest for the period of delay is being recovered.

Meanwhile, the cabinet gave the nod for the redevelopment of the 1,764 acres of land of the now-closed Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in Bathinda. Following the Cabinet decision, the land, belonging to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), will now be acquired by Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA), under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, through a 80:20 revenue sharing scheme.

PUDA has also been allowed by the cabinet to raise loan upto Rs 100 crore for development and sale of the site with state guarantee. The plant was shut down in 2018 as per the modalities worked out by a sub-committee set up on August 24, 2017, for the closure of the state-owned thermal plants in view of the Central Electricity Agency (CEA) guidelines to retire non-viable thermal power plants (TPPS) that have exceeded 25-year life span.