A day after the Congress claimed that GSPC owes Rs 12,000 crore in loans to banks and accused the Narendra Modi government of trying to prevent the company from being declared bankrupt, the state government hit back at the Opposition for making unfounded allegations.
A day after the Congress claimed that GSPC owes Rs 12,000 crore in loans to banks and accused the Narendra Modi government of trying to prevent the company from being declared bankrupt, the state government hit back at the Opposition for making unfounded allegations.
State Energy Minister Saurabh Patel said in a statement on Tuesday that the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) has been regular in repayment of principal amount and interest component, and had not defaulted on its loan commitments.
Citing a February 2, 2018 circular of the Reserve Bank of India, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said on Monday that a company that owes banks more than Rs 2,000 crore to banks as on March 21, 2018, and if it defaults, should be declared bankrupt after 180 days. He also said that the 180-day deadline for GSPC ended on Monday.
Patel, however, clarified that the RBI circular does not apply to GSPC since the company "has not defaulted on a single instalment".
"Jairam Ramesh has shown his lack of understanding by making baseless allegations against GSPC," he said.
According to officials, GSPC's total debt is around Rs 13,000 crore. It was close to Rs 25,000 crore until a little over a year ago, but it brought it down by selling its 80% stake in its KG basin project to ONGC for Rs 7,738 crore. It brought the debt to the current level by selling its 28.40% stake in Gujarat Gas for Rs 3,200 crore in March.
GSPC continues to be in talks with banks for restructuring of its outstanding loans, a senior official said. GSPC had also hired SBI Caps to devise a detailed realignment plan to improve its financial and operating performance.
Recent reports suggested that GSPC had offered its stake in five more blocks to ONGC, while a portal reported on Tuesday said that the Gujarat government-owned firm had requested SBI for a term loan of Rs 2,100 crore for refinancing existing debt from Gujarat State Financial Services. GSPC has also asked the lender to sanction a Rs 750 crore fund-based credit facility, it said.
The Energy Minister also denied the other allegations levelled by the Congress leader.
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