Banks seek Gujarat govt’s help to attach properties worth Rs 800 crore

“As per Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, banks require support from District Magistrates for attachment of property and quick enforcement of the Act. Huge applications are pending for DM permission and assistance for taking physical possession of charged assets under the Act,” stated the report published last week.

There are over 673 pending SARFAESI cases in Surat involving properties worth Rs 162 crore. The cases filed with the district magistrate are pending for issuance of order for physical possession by the banks. Similarly, 583 cases on properties worth Rs 193 crore are pending in Vadodara.

“It is reported that 2,418 applications involving Rs 880 crore of different banks are pending with the District Magistrates,” it added.

When asked about the high number of cases registered under SARFAESI Act in Surat and Vadodara, SLBC Gujarat convenor MM Bansal told The Indian Express, “Surat is a big city and so we get more number of such cases there.”

The SLBC data, however, shows that bigger districts such as Ahmedabad (167 cases involving properties worth Rs 79 crore) and Kutch (162 cases with properties worth Rs 67 crore) have fewer number of pending applications compared to Surat.

The report also requested the Gujarat government “to issue suitable advisory to district collectors to dispose of applications, pending for more than 60 days” and “to ensure that possession is handed over to concerned banks or financial institutions” after the orders are issued.

Of the total 2,418 applications in Gujarat, over 78 per cent (or 1,892) involving properties worth Rs 667 crore have been pending for more than 60 days for issuance of orders for physical possession, SLBC stated.

Apart from the pending applications, there are an additional 939 cases in the state where orders have been issued by the district magistrate but the physical possession of properties worth Rs 572 crore have not been handed over to the banks.