'Promoters took Rs 52K cr loan mortgaging govt land in Odisha'

Government auditor CAG today pulled up state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (IDCO) in Odisha for allowing 12 private promoters to take over Rs 52,000 crore loans from different financial institutions by mortgaging land sub-leased to them.
"The audit report noticed that on the basis of no- objection certificates issued by the IDCO, loans of Rs 52,423.50 crore were sanctioned by financial institutions in case of 12 promoters of MoU-based industries," the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said in its General and Social Sector report.
The CAG report for 2012-13 was tabled in the Odisha Assembly by state Finance Minister Pradip Kumar Amat here. Three audit reports on Public Sector Units (PSUs), General and Social sector and Economic and Revenue sector were tabled.

The CAG report has revealed a dip in the revenue receipt of the state from 21 per cent in 2011-2012 to 9.11 per cent in 2012-2013.
On "irregular" grant of right to mortgage land and issues of NOC to promoters, the report said IDCO irregularly conferred mortgage rights in the lease deeds executed with 52 MoU based and 54 non-MoU based industries, while handing over possession of 46,732.894 acres of land even though such a power was not vested with the state-owned PSU (IDCO).
Besides, the CAG's audit finding said IDCO irregularly issued NOC to 26 MoU-based industries for mortgaging 13,846.238 acres of land allotted in order to raise loans from financial institutions, even though it was not authorised to do so.

As per information collected from these financial institutions, five out of 12 industries have been released loans of Rs 8,625.89 crore.

In case of the remaining 14 industries, the quantum of actual loan sanctioned/availed on mortgage of land was not made available by IDCO top audit, the report said.
However, from the audited annual accounts of seven out of these 14 industries to whom NOC was given by IDCO, the CAG report said the audit noticed that land was mortgaged with financial institutions along with other fixed assets to avail a total loan of Rs 28,214.45 crore.
In 32 industrial estates of the state, the report said IDCO also irregularly issued NOC to 736 small and medium industrial units allowing mortgage of land allotted to them during 2001-2012.

Pulling up IDCO, the CAG report said the state PSU unauthorisedly issued such NOCs, enabling industries to raise loans on the basis of land allotted for industrial purpose without adequate safeguards to ensure that such capital would actually be used in the industrial projects concerned.