IL&FS board frames new roadmap to address lenders queries

New Delhi: The newly-formed board of IL&FS Tuesday informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that it has drawn up a new roadmap to address concerns of lenders.

Senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan appearing for IL&FS informed the two-member bench that the draft proposal has already been submitted before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and sought its permission to place before it.

"The new board of directors has chalked out a new roadmap which will answer lenders' question," Srinivasan told the NCLAT bench headed by Justice S J Mukhopadhaya.

"We request permission to place a new roadmap before NCLAT", he pleaded.

The NCLAT was hearing a bunch of petitions seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against IL&FS.

During the hearing, lenders of IL&FS group opposed the 90-day moratorium over loan repayment by the debt-laden group and its subsidiaries.

The banks have also asked the appellate tribunal to allow them not to classify IL&FS account as NPA in case of non-payment.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for IndusInd bank said that money needs to be recovered as the loans would become NPA as per the Reserve Bank of India's guidelines and would be loss to public money.

IndusInd bank had last week approached NCLAT seeking repayment of Rs 25 crore as interest from IL&FS to avoid classifying the company's account as non-performing asset.

The tribunal has fixed December 17 as the next date of hearing.

On October 15, NCLAT had stayed all proceedings against IL&FS group and its 348 firms till its further orders, over an urgent petition moved by the government.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had approached the appellate tribunal after the Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) turned down its plea to grant 90-day moratorium over the loans taken by IL&FS and its subsidiaries.

The NCLT on October 1 suspended the board of IL&FS on the government's plea and authorised reconstitution of the board by appointing seven directors two days later.