മൂന്നാര്‍-

Deaths made me to shed my boyhood

Some deaths may influence our life more than required. This is a chronicle of such deaths, which made me to shed my boyhood days .

My childhood was in Mattupetty in a sleepy farm of Indo Swiss Project, in Kerala, India. Born as a child of typical government servants, my child hood was more or less incident free and comfortable. We used to enjoy the chillness of Mattupetty with wild animals in abundance, including elephants and the warmth of the fellow workers of my parents. It was just like a small community with links to outside world only by road down to 9 miles (15 kilometres) to Munnar and of course also with faulty telephone lines. Yes, Munnar was also a very sleepy and calm town those days with tiled shops and a good market with lot of Kannanthevan Tea Estate people gather around, without any of those tourist resorts. Kannan Thevan is the tribal chieftain who shown hilly terrains near Munnar to a European ideal for Plantations, so the company was named after him. After Munnar Power works and memorial for anonymous who laid their life for building the dams, when entering into the town there was High Range Club, on the left side, down there was a football ground besides the road leading to town and Munnar Govt. LP School, one of many of my alma matre. After that the road to town is through Pankaj Theatre, where all the mainstream Tamil films used to run to pack and passionate audience. In this theatre I heard (or might be seen) “Thankapathakkom” (the MGR movie) was running for more than 100 days to the packed audience. The people were so passionate about the movies to throw knives to the screen to help to save the hero from getting killed by the villain.


The road then pass through estate workshop on one side and Govt. High School, Munnar on the other side. Opposite to High School there is co-operative society and little upper in the hillock some prayer hall with a board of some Rev.Samuel or something. From here I come to know “Rev.” means reverend, not revolutionary as has been in some other parts of the world.

Being a 2nd standard student in Munnar school, we children used to play a lot in the lunch time in the stream which is the border to the school ground and road. It was full of water and small fish, flowing to one of the three rivers confluence in the valley of Munnar. The three rivers confluences into one in the valley, thus the name of the valley is Moonu Arr (Tamil) –three rivers. Opposite to the school there lies the river (or down stream of a dam) on the other side of the road. In the foot ball ground some days we used to watch fantastic foot ball matches, which even now I believe better and spectacular than world cup matches. The teams were from different tea estates of Kannanthevan Tea Company. I don’t know when Kannanthevan was took over by Tatas. Earlier it was Tata Finlay, then changed to Tata Tea Ltd. We used to go in a bus to and fro to the school which is a red Premier Road Master bus. But this was a new school bus, prior to which, we were having a ford van as school bus, again a red one. The bus will take students of the Mattupetty Indo Swiss Project from various schools in and around Munnar and Korandikkadu to farm. The farm is little away from Mattupetty Dam, the first masonry dam in India, on the upstream.

Once, we were returning from the school in the school bus, it was raining heavily, so may be in one of those monsoon months. One cannot even see the road. Earlier in Munnar Town there was a gathering of people near the bus stand with black flags. We (no, it may be only I) thought it must be some meeting of political parties, as black and red are flag colours of the Dravida parties of Tamil Nadu who was having (I feel now also) a presence in Munnar. Suddenly a convoy of hundred (my calculation at the age of eight) vehicles all of them put on their headlights, stopped our school bus. (We were having an ottakannan (Malayalam)- single eyed lorry with a contractor who was there to make a new rest house in farm). We were all looking out and one person has come to our bus stand asked the driver for a spanner or something . The ambulance, which was carrying the pretham (a slang Malayalam. In Malayalam it means ghost)- dead body of a famous foot ball payer, got a punctured tyre. I did not know the ghost could be carried in an ambulance. The stories I heard so far was that the ghosts are creatures who are having an inclination to kill by sucking blood and they need not walk as they can simply flow over or fly. Usually the ghost will appear in darkness, preferably around midnight before a single soul who may be returning to home after a late night drink or a romantic encounter. It will appear from nowhere in the midst of tea plantation (read paddy field or forest if it happens in other parts of Kerala, where there is no tea plantation) from one of the hundreds of labyrinths, before the prey. They will ask for chunnambu (Malayalam)-lime used in chewing betal nut with leaves of betal and tobacco. If the prey is not intelligent enough he will offer chunnambu, which normally carried by people who is having a whiff of drink or romance in those days, and that is it. On touching the body of the prey, the ghost will become large and eventually suck the blood and munch the flesh and soft bones leaving behind only skull and large bones for the passers by to see. However, the intelligent lot will offer chunnambu on a pena kathi(Malayalam)- pocket knife, the ghost will slowly fade away but growing like a mountain in the midst of tea estate when it go far and finally converge into the darkness. I was never liked this part of the story. In a story there should be some drama and climax with some blood and all. These ghosts, mostly very beautiful woman called “yakshi” and very rarely man with very good features called “gandharvan” and who are eating flesh and drinking blood, are ridiculously afraid of a piece of iron,. I always prayed for these poor creatures to get more rational thinking to overcome their phobia of iron or of knife.

But here this is a different case, ghost is being carried in an ambulance van with so many people around. I told our conductor that I want to see pretham. He took me to the ambulance, there I have seen lying in bed of flowers with incense sticks burning in the midst crying women and children, a body of a man wrapped fully with white and red clothes and covered with wreaths. Yes, my tryst with the death for the first time in my life. All fancies about the pretham are gone. They are just simply do not have any life, they cannot drink a single drop of water or eat a single morsel of rice, forget about thicker blood and protein rich flesh. And I felt, the death would bring tears especially of women and children. I know the tears most of children of our age are because of pain, neglect or empathy.

At that time there was talk about emergency. Indira Gandhi was quick to declare emergency. We in the school bus discussed lot about this and taken a stand that “adiynanthiravastha arabikkdalil” (Malayalam)-emergency should be sunk into Arabian sea. We did not know what is it what it is meant for us, it is just a childhood play. At that time apart from we children one uncle used to come in our school bus to Munnar from ettam mile, which is very near to Mattupetty Dam. Some of the Project employees were staying in the quarters near dam, though it belongs to Tea Estates. This uncle was working in a chitty (Malayalam)-a kind of banking with micro investments from a group of people, prevalent in especially Central part of Kerala- company in Munnar, used tell us so many things. At that time there was a Malayalam movie running in Priya Theatre (one of the two) in Munnar by name Mooldahanam(Malayalam)-capital. He was asking me about what is mooladhanam. I have read the cinema notice and told it is a story of an individual made from the oozing blood. He was insisting to tell what is capital. And finally after three days of introduction, I understood how a business is being run and what is capital and more importantly from where the capital comes and how it grows. Perhaps my first lessons on Marxism and Das Capital. This uncle always tells some stories during our journey, I am not remembering what they are.

Emergency was in its full throttle. There were news about the arrest and detention of people. In Munnar there was rumours about arrest of some trade union leaders. The uncle’s father what I heard is sick and taking bed rest at home. One day this uncle has not come, and it was told his father expired. After some days, one evening after returning from school my mother and me went to his house. The body was cremated then, and there was complete silence in the house. We left after 10 or 15 minutes. On the way back I heard my mother talking to somebody that he was not ill but was pretending to be ill from being arrested. He was a leader of the estate trade union and one day police took him from his bed. After returning from police station he died. This incident germinated anger against the establishment in me. I will no longer be a child as I was till yesterday.

Enforcement of Security Interest in India

• SECURITISATION ACT
  (The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002)
  
  
  With the problem of NPAs, created due to systemic banking crisis, focused measures to help banking system to realize its NPA has resulted in creation of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs).
  
  It is also perceived that the cumbersome and time consuming legal process create many a hurdle than solution to address the problem of NPA s in the banking system. It was suggested by many a committees on banking reforms that there should be a mechanism to recover the dues of the banks through efficacious and speedier realisation of the assets/securities.
  
  In 1991 and again in 1998, the Narasimham Comittees 1 & 2 suggested legal frame work in this direction. The committee on weak Public Sector Banks (1999) also suggested to draw a lesson from Asian neighbours to set up ARCs. The Andhyarujina Committee had suggested legal infrastructure in the realization and management of securities.
  
  Securitisation
  
  To address the increasing needs of financial institutions to have more cheaper funds available for lending operations and to reduce the size of the balances sheets, Securitisation was widely accepted as a tool carry out the above activity.
  
  Securitisation is a process which converts a financial relation in to a transaction that is into a capital market instrument. In other words it is the process of converting existing or future cash inflows in to a tradable security. That is the expected cash inflow from financial assets such as mortgages, trade receivables, book debts, charges, hypothecations, assignments and intellectual property against which borrowings were raised, are made in to tradable securities. Since the lender is assured of regular cash flows, there is an enhanced element of credit worthiness and therefore can offer the loan at a lower price.
  
  The process
  
  The originator, is the entity which securitise its assets, which is responsible for originating the claims which are to be ultimately securitised. Thus originator transfers receivables to the issuing entity.
  
  The Special Purpose Vehicle, will hold the receivables assigned to it for the purpose of issuing and holding the securities on behalf of the investors. The SPV will create securities which are marketable, may be of smaller size receipts in which the investors can invest.
  
  As per the present scheme of the Act, only the Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) can invest in such securities.
  
  Credit Enhancement is the process by which enhancing the quality of the asset, which is supplied by the originator in order to make it acceptable to investor.
  
  
  
  Securitisable Recievables
  
  Wherever there is a future stream of revenues that can be realized and which can be reasonably estimated there lies an opportunity to raise money by way securitisation. To illustrate
  
  · Receivables of real estates/housing finance companies
  · Receivables of non mortgage based finance companies -auto loans, equipment lease rentals
  · Car rentals
  · Receivables of credit cards
  · Hotel rentals
  · Real estate rentals
  · Receivables of utility agencies- telephone, electricity
  · Taxes
  · Loan portfolio of Banks
  · Royalty or license fee from Intellectual Property
  · Insurance premium
  
  The statute
  
  The Act was passed in June 2002, mainly with a view to address the problems faced by the Banks/FIs in the NPA front giving rights to them to enforce/restructure securities without intervention of the courts, cutting litigation time/expenses.
  
  The Act provides two ways to restructure/realise the assets:
  Enforcement of Security Interest
  Asset Reconstruction
  
  
  Enforcement of Security Interest
  
  The Act provides that in an NPA account, classified in the books of the Banks/FIs
  
  A demand notice can be served to the borrower and to the persons who has created security to repay the dues within 60 days from the date of the notice, by the secured creditor- like Bank, FI, ARC, SC & Housing Finance Companies (section 2[c])
  
  If the borrower/creator of security interest, fails to clear the dues in the statutory period of 60 days, the secured creditor through its authorised officer.

• Take possession of the secured assets of the borrower including the right to transfer by way of lease, assignment or sale for realising the secured assets
  


• Takeover management of secured assets of the borrower with the above rights

• Appoint any person to manage the secured assets, of which the possession has been taken over
  

Issue notice and require any persons who acquired right of the borrower on the secured assets and/or having dues to the borrower to pay the secured creditor money sufficient to clear the dues of the borrower. (Garnishee Notice)


Securities Enforceable under the Act

Book debts
Receivables
Charges
Mortgage
Hypothecation
Assignment
Intellectual Property Rights



Securities Not Enforceable under the Act

Lien on goods money or security
Pledge
Charge on Aircraft/Ship
Conditional Sale
Hire purchase or lease
Rights of unpaid seller
Assets exempted under the proviso of section 60 of CPC
Agricultural land



Accounts which are not eligible

The accounts which are not classified as NPAs
The Accounts in which liability of the borrower is less than 1 lac
The Accounts where amount due is less than 20% of the amount lent
The accounts with expired documents

are barred from taking action under the provisions of the Act.


Asset Reconstruction

An Asset Reconstruction Company/Securitisation Company (ARC/SC) formed under the provisions of the Act can take any one or following measures, in tune with the guidelines issued by the RBI in this regard.

Taking over/ effect change in management of the business
The sale or lease of part/whole business
Rescheduling of payment of debt
Enforcement of security rights as above
Settlement of dues with the borrower
Taking of possession of the secured assets as above


Formation of ARCs/SCs

· Shall apply to RBI to get a license.

· After getting license the ARC/SC may acquire financial assets from the Bank/FIs(Originators) by way of issuing debentures, bond or any form of security for consideration agreed upon with terms and conditions.

The ARC/SC can enter an agreement with the originator for transfer of such financial assets to the ARC/SC.

If the originator is a lender, all the rights of the lender shall vest in SC/ARC, after such acquisition.

The ARC/SC after acquisition of the financial assts may offer security receipts to the buyers (at present only to the QIBs).

Challenges for Banks/FIs

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Grievances of Defaulters

Lender Favoured

Assets Sold in a closed room

No reference to lender’s liability

No judicial remedy

Defense

An extension of SFC’s Act which is in operation from 1969

In-built remedies available against arbitrariness

§ Appeals to DRTs

§ Penalty for non adherence to provisions of the Act including imprisonment


©Sabu G Chelapaden 2003
Sabu/sec-arc