Gujarat denies Mamata Banerjee’s claim on GSPC

Kolkata: Gujarat government today denied West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claim that the loans extended to Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) by banks had turned out to be non-performing assets (NPAs).

“It is wrong to interpret that the loans given by banks to GSPC will turn NPAs,” an official of the Gujarat government told reporters here today.

The official said that the company, owned by the Gujarat government, had completed its project, laid the pipeline and had been paying the instalments every month.

The company had been paying Rs 1,800 crore every year for the last three years, he said, and work on seven of the 25 wells had been completed.

While attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation yesterday, Banerjee cited a CAG report and said that the GSPC had taken loans to the extent Rs 19,000 crore from banks and was in the process of becoming NPAs.

GSPC is one of the oil and gas exploration, development and production companies of India. Government of Gujarat along with its public sector undertakings are holding more than 97 per cent of equity of the company as on March 31, 2015, according to the company’s website.

PTI