UPFC faces auction of its properties

KANPUR: Trapped in heavy financial losses, the Uttar Pradesh Financial Corporation (UPFC), which once spearheaded industrialisation in Uttar Pradesh, is now facing auction of its properties.

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has decided to auction UPFC properties to realize ₹372 crore plus an interest of ₹289 crore as the corporation did not make any repayment till 2017.

The SIDBI has put a notice for auction of the properties at the UPFC head office in Civil Lines, fixing the date of auction on November 28.

The properties to be auctioned include 12 flats of UPFC in Kanpur, 20 MIG and LIG flats in Agra and 14 MIG and LIG flats in Varanasi. In addition, the campus and the office building of the UPFC in Kanpur would also be auctioned.

Managing director of the

UPFC Gaurav Dayal said the matter has been referred to the principal secretary, small industries and a decision would be taken soon to save the properties from auction.

People privy to the developments said the UPFC had started efforts to settle the issue under one time settlement scheme by paying the first instalment of the settled amount to SIDBI. At a high-level meeting at the government level, the SIDBI had asked that ₹50 crore should immediately be given to it and that the government gave guarantee for making rest of the payment within next three years. But none of assurances materialized. The UPFC had also appealed before the high court against the order of attachment of properties by DRT but did not get any relief.

They said the UPFC has now once again pitched in for a onetime settlement scheme.

The UPFC had taken a loan of ₹372 crore from SIDBI in the year

2002 and even failed to pay the interest amount on the loan.

In the year 2013 the SIDBI had approached Debt Realization Authority (DRT), which gave its

decision in 2017 and empowered the SIDBI to attach the properties of the UPFC in the state, following which the SIDBI immediately attached the properties.