Ahmedabad tops with highest NPA properties in Gujarat

Being the financial hub of Gujarat comes at a cost for Ahmedabad.

At Rs 547.64 crore (Rs 5.47 billion), Ahmedabad district has topped the chart for highest number of non-performing asset (NPA) properties in Gujarat for a period of 12 months from February 2011 to February 2012.

According to a recent study conducted by NPAsource.com in the whole of Gujarat, NPA properties worth Rs 984.03 crore (Rs 9.84 billion) have been identified for the period under review.

Under the study, NPAsource.com, a portal by Atishya Technologies Pvt. Ltd., has covered a total of 366 NPA property units of Gujarat valued at Rs 984.03 crore (Rs 9.84 billion).

Ahmedabad district, the financial hub of the state, accounts for more than 50 per cent of total NPA properties in Gujarat with Rs . 547.64 crore spread across 90 units. What's more, the runner-up, Surat, comes at a distant Rs 93.30 crore (Rs 933 million) valued from 62 units.

"Out of total 90 units in Ahmedabad district, 46 units account for Rs 502.84 crore (Rs 5.02 billion) of commercial and industrial properties. There are 30 residential properties in Ahmedabad district valued at Rs 19.54 crore (Rs 195.4 million)," the study states.

Further, Kutch stands at number three with Rs 73.41 crore (Rs 734.1 million) of NPA properties for five units, followed by Valsad, Bharuch and Vadodara with Rs 62 crore (Rs 620 million), Rs 60.68 crore (Rs 606.8 million) and Rs 57.93 crore (Rs 579.3 million), respectively.

"It is obvious that Ahmedabad, being the financial capital of Gujarat tops the list of districts having highest number of NPA properties. But, with just five NPA properties, Kutch comes at number three in the state. As Gujarat has been the growth engine for India's industrial development, it is but natural that the quantum of NPA properties too will be higher, especially in highly industrialised areas like Ahmedabad and Surat," said Devendra Jain, CMD of Atishya Group.

The study also revealed that out of the different types of properties given as collateral against loans, commercial and industrial properties worth Rs 737 crore (Rs 7.37 billion) spread across 132 units accounted for a majority of the total NPA properties.

Land worth Rs 181 crore (Rs 1.81 billion) spread across 90 blocks of land and 121 residential units valued at Rs 38 crore (Rs 380 million) were the other major categories in NPA properties.