NEW DELHI, Mar 10: The government proposes to implement e-governance in the Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRT) and Debt Recovery Appallate Tribunals (DRATs) to enhance their efficiency and provide a platform for seemless operations to banks,financial institutions and general public.
Finance Ministry sources said the key objective of implementing Information Technology was to automate the processes and procedures in DRTs and DRATs.
Another objective is to empower DRT officials by providing technology enablers to help them deliver best possible services efficiently and to provide hassle-free administrative services.
The government intends to facilitate applicants and defendents to get hassle free access to the information. Besides there is a need to have access to timely and accurate reports and efficiently manage case records.
Sources said the banks and financial institutions want to easily track their case related information.
“The Government wants to support Recovery Officers with the state of the art tools and technology to speedily enforce the orders”, sources said.
Keeping in line with the international trends on helping FIs recover their bad Debt quickly and effeciently, the GOI constituted 33 DRTs and five DRATs across the country.
The DRTs are located across the country with cities like New Delhi and Mumbai having three DRTs. Chennai and Kolkata have two DRTs each.
Cities of Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Arungabad, Bangalore, Chandigrah,Coimbatore, Cuttack, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Hyderabad,Jabalpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Ranchi and Vishakapatnam have one DRT each.
Each DRT is chaired by a Presiding Officer drawn from judicial services and is the sole authority to hear and pass any judicial orders.
The DRT are fully empowered to pass comprehensive orders like Civil Courts and can hear cross suits, counter claims and allow set offs. However, they cannot hear claims of damages or deficiency of services or breach of contract or criminal negligence on the part of the lenders. (UNI)