Srinagar: The Kashmir Traders Alliance (KTA) has asked J&K Bank to extend the timeframe of OTS-2022 scheme, lengthening the repayment time and making it applicable to all business loans, regardless of their size.
In a statement, KTA President, Aijaz Shahdhar said that it was encouraging to recognise that J&K Bank had, for the first time, introduced a consistent and non-discriminatory programme to settle NPA accounts.
However, it was regrettable that the affected businesses were unable to benefit from the scheme for a variety of reasons, including their inability to secure the necessary resources within the allotted time frame.
Shahdhar said Kashmir’s businesses were victims of events beyond their control, they should not be treated as deliberate defaulters and that their accounts had been classified as NPAs.
He claimed that the poor asset quality of account holders was mostly driven by the frequent business disruptions that burdened the companies with idle setup expenditures, which had a negative impact on their viability and stressed their accounts, finally resulting in NPAs.
Shahdhar requested J&K Bank management to issue an order extending the OTS scheme while keeping in mind the past and present circumstances of the Kashmiri business community so that companies that wish to take advantage of this scheme have enough time.
