Axis Bank set to lose SRA account worth Rs 900 crore
After losing the state police department’s salary account worth Rs 11,000 crore when the new government decided to move it back to a nationalised bank, Axis Bank is now set to lose another big client – the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). The State Housing Department has decided to direct SRA to move rent accounts of all slum dwellers who are part of the nearly 500 on-going redevelopment projects in the city from Axis Bank to a nationalised bank. The accounts – in which builders deposit monthly rent that they must pay to every slum dweller whose house has been acquired for redevelopment – are worth over Rs 900 crore. The previous Devendra Fadnavis-led government had transferred the state police and SRA accounts to the Axis Bank, leading to a big furore. The opposition had alleged that Axis Bank was being granted special favours because Fadnavis’s wife Amruta is its employee. While Fadnavis was not available for a comment on Friday, in connection with the police department’s account he has previously clarified to Mumbai Mirror that it was a decision taken only because Axis Bank offered a better deal. However, opposition members pointed out a coercive order from the then CM’s office that followed the instruction to move the SRA rent accounts to Axis Bank. The builders were warned that if the accounts were not opened before the stipulated date, a fine of Rs 1 lakh per day will be imposed till February 28, 2016 and Rs 5 lakh per day after March 1, 2016.
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