Alathur: Bank consortium halted Supplyco’s attempts to avail further loans. They have asked the corporation to pay up their earlier loans before applying for new ones. Hence, supplyco’s latest attempt to avail yet another loan amounting to Rs 400 crore did not prove successful. In a meeting held on Monday, bank officials demanded a guarantee from the government for the pending payments.

At present, Supplyco is distributing funds to farmers through SBI, Canara, and Federal banks using the Rs 900 crore loan allotted by the consortium earlier. However the money will be sufficient only for paddy receipt sheet (PRS) approved till May 15. Starting from May 16, another Rs 400 crore will be required to pay up the farmers. A major chunk of this money, approximately Rs 288 crore, has to be distributed in the Palakkad district alone. 

At present, the corporation has to pay up loans amounting to a whopping Rs 4,400 crore.  Out of this, Rs 3,400 crore has been borrowed from the bank consortium so far, Rs 400 crore was given to the Supplyco by the Kerala Bank during the previous season, and the tally also includes the earlier PRS loans amounting to Rs 600 crores.

Supplyco drowning in debts

The state government owes around Rs 3,000 crores to Supplyco. The corporation will be rejuvenated in its true sense if the government decides to make the payment. However the chances are grim.

For the rice procured and pushed into the public distribution system, the Kerala government has to pay around Rs 1,130 crore to Supplyco. The government owes Rs 1,560 crore to the corporation for facilitating the distribution of free kits and raw materials to the Maveli stores during the pandemic. In addition to this, the Kerala government has to pay another Rs 130 crore for raw materials supplied by Supplyco to the ration shops. 

The public education department has to pay the corporation Rs 130 crore for distribution of school kits. A payment of Rs 18 crore for handling the midday meals schemes at schools is also pending.

A sum of Rs 14 crore for distributing kits among migrant workers, and Rs 18 crore for distributing such kits among fishing communities during the pandemic also have to be paid to the corporation.