New Delhi, June 20 :
New Delhi, June 20:
The much-awaited revival plan of the scam-tainted Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank (MMCB) was cleared today with both the Centre and the Gujarat government agreeing to stand guarantee for the Rs 800-crore bailout package.
According to the package that has been worked out, MMCB will issue bonds worth Rs 800 crore which will be picked up by the Gujarat-based cooperative societies.
While the Union government will stand guarantee for 70 per cent of the amount, the remaining 30 per cent will be guaranteed by the Gujarat government.
The details of the bond will be worked out by the Reserve Bank of India.
The revival package was finalised at a high-level meeting at home minister L.K. Advani's office which was attended by finance minister Yashwant Sinha, agriculture minister Nitish Kumar, textile minister Kanshi Ram Rana and Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel.
The decision follows the recommendation of the committee appointed by the Central Registrar of Cooperatives, which had suggested induction of funds.
The funds are to be inducted by other cooperative banks in the state as promised by them and also from the depositors' insurance scheme.
The Gujarat chief minister said top priority would be given to repayment of small depositors with deposits less than Rs 1 lakh.
The bail-out plan also stresses that the new management would take 'effective steps' to ensure recovery of advances made to the various debtors of the bank, including the Ketan Parekh group, he said. 'None would be spared in this effort,'he added.
Elaborating on the guarantee scheme, Keshubhai Patel said the bank would ensure that Rs 600 crore, now in government securities, would not be withdrawn for six years as part of the guarantee by the state and central government.
Another Rs 468 crore would be provided in respect of deposit insurance.
Patel said the package also provides for proper restructuring of bank's management to instill investors' confidence.
Sinha made it clear that the Centre would not bail out the bank and it was for the state coop banks to pool the money.
The total deposits with state cooperative banks in Gujarat currently amounts to about Rs 17,000 crore of which four per cent would be pooled to revive MMCB.
Patel said the revival scheme would provide for reorganisation of MMCB in an 'appropriate legal structure'.
The package have been worked out after RBI expressed the opinion that the revival of MMCB was 'commercially viable'.
The scam surfaced when MMCB defaulted
in repayment of bank pay-orders of the order
of Rs 134.7 crore to Bank of India which lodged a protest with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).