Lenders to the heavily indebted Panipat Jalandhar NH 1 Tollway (PJTL) have agreed to a one-time settlement for their Rs 34 billion dues. They accepted a Rs 10.20 billion all-cash offer from the promoters, the Canada-based Roadis Group and Hyderabad's Soma Enterprises, resulting in a 30% recovery, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The account had been affected by farmers' agitation in the area for several years and was eventually declared a Non-Performing Asset (NPA). Several months ago, the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) had proposed to take over the debt, but the promoters returned with a higher offer, which was largely accepted by the lenders, stated a person involved in the process.

NARCL, a government-backed bad loan aggregator, had offered Rs 1000 crore to the banks to take over the debt. However, this offer included 85% security receipts that would need to be encashed later post-recovery, unlike the all-cash settlement from the Roadis-Soma consortium. The settlement offer from the consortium still needs approval from all ten lenders in accordance with Reserve Bank of India regulations.

Almost all lenders are on board, but the entire process, including obtaining approvals from all banks, will take some time. Lenders are optimistic that the transaction can be completed within this quarter, mentioned another source aware of the details.

The State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest creditor to this account, holding 37% of the total dues, followed by Punjab National Bank with 17%. Other lenders to the project include Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, and UCO Bank. Individual lenders could not be contacted for comments.

In a rating note from March last year, Crisil mentioned that the company had been engaged by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to widen the four-lane Panipat'Jalandhar section of NH-1 to six lanes, with a concession period of 15 years, including a construction period of 30 months.