Troubles are mounting for the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra which is yet to recover from its rout in the Lok Sabha polls. A report by the state Cooperatives department has pinned the blame for losses worth nearly Rs. 500 crores in the Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank on its board, which was led mainly NCP politicians including the Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The bank’s board was disbanded in 2011, after directions from the Reserve Bank of India because it was deeply in the red. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s go ahead for the dissolution had led Ajit Pawar to publicly attack him. The probe report could well widen the rift between the Congress and NCP which run the coalition government in the state.
The report says, “decisions, actions and the inaction of the erstwhile board of directors of the bank were responsible for the irregularities and the financial losses incurred.”
The probe pertains to the period 2008-2011 when the board was dominated by the NCP though it had directors from most political parties. Its chairperson Manikrao Patil belonged to the NCP as did key directors Mr Ajit Pawar, MP Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, and Cabinet Minister Dilip Sopal. The directors from the Congress included Dilip Deshmukh and Manikrao Kokate. Mr Pandurang Phundkar from the BJP and Anandrao Adsul from the Shiv Sena were also on the board.
“An inquiry will now be conducted under section 88 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act to fix individual responsibility on members of the board. The investigating officer will decide to what extent individuals are responsible. If found liable, their properties could be attached,” Maharashtra Cooperatives secretary Rajgopal Deora told The Hindu .
The probe had found that the bank’s board sanctioned loans to both private and cooperative sugar mills without adequate security and guarantees. Loans were even extended to units with negative net worth. Cooperative sugar factories were sold on the cheap by the bank to recover loans without following due diligence, the report says.
The Opposition BJP has demanded Mr Pawar’s resignation, saying he wielded control over the bank’s functioning. However NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “The bank’s board had members from all political parties. Why should Mr. Ajit Pawar be singled out?”
