VIJAYAWADA: Strongly opposing monetization, Insurance Corporation Employees’ Union (ICEU) has demanded the government to improve governance and rules instead of resorting to privatization.
ICEU Machilipatnam division conducted a Study Circle programme on the National Asset Monetization Pipeline Scheme here on Friday. Joint secretary of South Central Zone Insurance Employees' Federation (SCZIEF) G. Kishore Kumar said that the cash-strapped Centre had on August 23 launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) comprising brownfield assets with an aggregate monetisation potential of Rs six lakh crore, which will be available for lease/licensing to private investors from 2021-22 to 2024-25.
Kishore claimed that the resource crunch was due to poor governance. Lot of gains can be made by recovering NPAs, curbing banking frauds and recovering tax arrears. Gross NPAs stood at Rs 8.34 lakh crore on March 31, despite loan write-off to the tune of Rs 1,31,894 crore in 2020-21. The loans that were written off between April 2014 and March 2021, stands at a mind-boggling Rs 10.63 lakh crore of which only 10 to 15% has been recovered while during the period banks lost Rs five lakh crore to numerous frauds.
Kishore said that public goods and services, roads, infrastructure must stay with the government. He stated that asset monetization may lead to the intensification of crony capitalism, create private monopolies and lead to disempowerment and impoverishment of masses.
ICEU joint secretary Dr Chilakalapudi Kaladhar and other leaders attended the programme.
