Finance Ministry calls for joint effort to cut backlog at debt tribunals

The Finance Ministry on Saturday urged all stakeholders to collaborate in reducing pendency of cases at debt recovery tribunals (DRTs) by establishing an effective recovery ecosystem.

This would facilitate the redeployment of capital locked in cases pending before DRTs for productive use in the economy, the finance ministry said in a statement.

During a colloquium of Chairpersons of Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) and Presiding Officers of Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) organised by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Ministry of Finance also discussed effective implementation of DRT Regulations, 2024 and prioritisation of high value cases in DRTs for optimal recovery.

Justice S V N Bhatti, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, graced the meeting which was also attended by senior officers of the DFS, representatives of various public and private sector banks and Indian Banks' Association.

DFS Secretary M Nagaraju highlighted various key initiatives taken by the Department such as adoption of revised DRT Regulations, mandatory e-filing, hearing through video-conferencing, hybrid hearings etc. for reducing turnaround time of the matters adjudicated by the tribunals.

During the meeting, introduction of further reforms to reduce turn-around time for various processes in DRT proceedings etc. were also discussed.

Robust monitoring and oversight mechanisms by banks for increasing recovery through DRTs and use of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms including Lok Adalats for expeditious disposal of cases were also discussed.