AGARTALA: Tripura government has replaced Tripura Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act 2000 with Tripura Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Rules, 2022 under the Centre’s act Banning on Unregulated Deposit Schemes act 2019 with stringent provisions to protect the interests of depositors of the financial establishment.

Tripura law minister Ratan Lal Nath said that the council of ministers in a meeting on Tuesday had approved the rules to prevent unscrupulous activities of various Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) operated in the state.

Since, the central government enacted the law with strict provisions and updated concepts, there is no use of the state’s law.

According to Tripura’s law Deputy Collector had been given the charge of the enforcing official while in the Central law Finance Secretary has been made responsible for enforcement.

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Moreover, the new act provides penal sanctions from minimum one year to maximum 10 years with minimum penalty of Rs 2 lakh – 10 lakh, Nath stated.

With the direction of the Court, Tripura government has so far attached as many as 66 properties belonging to 20 unscrupulous financial institutions in the state.

The process was initiated to sell 34 of such properties by the state administration two years ago but due to Covid pandemic it could not be completed in time, the Law Minister argued.

Nath said the government has so far received claims from 15,206 depositors duped by such companies in eight sub-divisions of the state and the courts accorded permission for selling properties of Waris at Udaipur, Belonia and Agartala, Ramel and Icore at Agartala, Kama (Indian) Projects at Santirbazar, Pragatishil Infra Projects and Rose Valley at Kumarghat and Angel Agritech at Udaipur.

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A building of Support India Limited, which had looted a large amount of money mostly from Dhalai and North Tripura has already been attached in Kamalpur has been given to Punjab National Bank on rent and earned about Rs 12 Lakh, Nath claimed adding that previous left front government had encouraged several Chit funds companies in the state who have looted more than Rs 2000 Cr over a decade from the state.