A brief account of visit to an informal gathering of cooperative leaders in Patna

“He is an avatar of Tapeshwar Babu and conducts the cooperative affairs of the state much like him”, said septuagenarian cooperative leader Rahguvansh Narayan Singh Chairman of Land Development Cooperative Bank.

Sitting in an informal dress and thronged by cooperative leaders from across the state at his residential office in Patna, Biscomaun Chairman Sunil Singh was busy solving their problems and was making faint attempt to keep the movement alive.

Cooperative movement in Bihar has fallen hostage in the hands of the government. The Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), on which Nitish govt boasts no end, are acting like one of the agencies of the govt.

PACS are primarily used as a means of procurement and distribution of agri products with little proactive action from the local cooperative leaders thereby defeating the very spirit of cooperative which hinges primarily on peoples’ initiatives.

“Sunil Babu, our vigilance commissioner has grown so autocratic that he has begun to dictate terms to the Board”, said one of the leaders in the informal gathering. “Our Managing Director hardly bothers for the opinion of the elected board”, said another victim of govt high-handedness.

The sight of about 20 cooperators sitting informally and sharing their problems was indeed encouraging. When this correspondent asked them the purpose of their visit to this place , one of the leaders Gopal Giri, Chairman of Tapandu Urban Cooperative Bank said “ It’s a meeting point for us where we try to solve problems plaguing the cooperative movement.

Ramesh Chand Choubey, Chairman of Bihar State Cooperative Bank said “cooperators assemble here to deliberate on the progress of the cooperative movement in the state”. Ramkalevar Prasad Singh, Chairman State Consumer Cooperative Federation said “ Sunil Babu is seized with problems affecting cooperative from morning to evening and we come here to seek his guidance. Narendra Kumar Sharma from Jahanabad and Rambishun Singh Yadav echoed similar feelings.

Readers could recall that the State govt is not allowing the duly elected board of Biscomaun to operate. Indian Cooperative has gathered that there is a political pressure on Sunil Singh to switch sides to JDU. He is held as close to Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Keeping the movement alive in a hostile atmosphere is no mean job and the huddled crowds at the residential office of Biscomaun Chairman inspired hope that all is not over yet.

Addressing a meeting at a cooperative bank and a dairy managed exclusively by women in a village in Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh Governor Narasimhan underscored the importance of the expansion of the cooperative sector in the state.

The Governor said that cooperative sector has potential to create job opportunities and help fight absolute poverty.

The governor’s emphatic call for giving particular importance to the cooperative sector would influence the state govt’s attitude and policies towards the sector, a senior source at an important local cooperative body was quoted as saying.

A number of ministers and officials had accompanied the governor on the tour.

A top government Official of Tamil Nadu has said the five profit making textile mills in the cooperative sector in the state would soon be modernized.

The state govt. has earmarked Rs 104 for the modernization of the mills.

In addition the govt has sanctioned Rs18 crore for reviving a mill lying closed in Ramanathapuram, official told the press while taking part in a conference organized by the Indian Cotton Federation in Coimbatore.

Police has registered a case of forgery in connection with a fraudulent withdrawal of several lakhs of rupees from a cooperative bank in Ballia district of UP.

The cooperative division of UP police is likely to arrest several people accused in the case including a BSP MLA, a former minister’s son and 12 others.

Sources add investigations have revealed that a BSP MLA had been a partner in a tainted construction agency.

Buzz  is  the arrest warrants  issued  by  a Varanasi court  that  handles  the  cooperative   cases  would soon be handed over to the local police and all those involved in the fraudulent transactions would be arrested without delay.

A Victim of state mechinations and some of his own doings, Ramchandra Mule is finally out.

Ulhas Phaldesai , elder brother of BJP MLA Subhash Phaldesai grabbed the top post with the help of Chief Minister who successfully engineered defection to win over Mule’s two of the loyalists.

Avelino Marcus D’Silva was elected bank’s vice chairman.

The recent elections of the board of directors of the Goa state cooperative bank have stirred controversy as the govt wrested control of the bank even if the govt backed candidate BJP MLA Phaldesai had initially lost to the panel led by the bank chairman Ramchandra Mule.

Addressing the press Chief Minister Manohar Parikar had claimed, majority of the elected members have met him and urged resurrection of the bank. Parikar assured the new board of directors of his full support.  The outgoing management led by Mule was corrupt and indulged in gross irregularities with abandonment.  Appropriate legal action would be initiated against the outgoing management, Pariker   added.

Within a couple of hours after the vote, there was a sudden change in the situation. Some of Mule’s elected supporters changed their mind and extended their support to Phaldesai. Thus Mule stood dislodged from power.

The Goa state cooperative bank is the fulcrum of the cooperative sector in the state. The bank claims a total deposit of Rs 11000 crore.

In Andhra Pradesh the cooperative banks and societies would soon be exempt from value added tax, said Andhra cooperative minister while addressing a cooperative society function in Kakinada.

According to the minister, his ministry has sent the relevant proposal to the state cabinet and the central government.

The issue has long been in discussions in the state.

Sources say if the cooperative organizations are exempt from VAT it will give a fillip to the cooperative movement in the state.

Bihar is a state which is witness to large scale hoarding, black-marketing and smuggling of fertilizers. The State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has urged the center to ensure the availability of fertilizers in the state.

Nitish called the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and fertilizers informing him of an acute shortage of urea in particular in Bihar.

Sources say the shortage counts 1.96 lakh metric tonnes of urea this year. While Bihar needs 7.90 lakh metric tonnes altogether, it has so far been supplied with only 5.94 lakh metric tonnes.

Bihar chief minister is taking personal interest in the matter and has instructed his officials to ensure farmers experience no difficulty procuring the fertilizer.

The recent elections of the board of directors of the Goa state cooperative bank have stirred controversy as the govt wrested control of the bank even if the govt backed candidate BJP MLA Phaldesai had initially lost to the panel led by the bank chairman Ramchandra Mule.

Addressing the press Chief Minister Manohar Parikar claimed, majority of the elected members have met him and urged resurrection of the bank. Parikar assured the new board of directors of his full support.  The outgoing management led by Mule was corrupt and indulged in gross irregularities with abandonment.  Appropriate legal action would be initiated against the outgoing management, Pariker   added.

Within a couple of hours after the vote, there was a sudden change in the situation. Some of Mule’s elected supporters changed their mind and extended their support to Phaldesai. Thus Mule stood dislodged from power.

The Goa state cooperative bank is the fulcrum of the cooperative sector in the state. The bank claims a total deposit of Rs 11000 crore.

According to the chief minister, the bank is in a difficult situation with an unusually high NPA and poor capital adequacy ratio. The Rs 46 crore loan the govt owned Kadamba transport corporation owes the bank would be sorted out as soon as the new management starts functioning, he noted.

On the other hand, a crestfallen Mule is in confabulations with his supporters and still trying to effect a shift in the balance of forces in his favour. He insists the elections for the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship should be held without any delay.

Punjab has demanded about one thousand crore for rescheduling of cooperative credit from the central government in the wake of severe drought in the state.

It has asked the center to help it overcome the problem of drought- like conditions.  It has demanded a relief package of more than five thousand crore rupees.

The state needs nearly a thousand crore for rescheduling of cooperative credit, over two thousand crore for buying and supplying power and about a thousand crore for compensating farmers on high speed diesel.

Besides, Punjab needs funds for ground water irrigation, installation of tube-wells and supply of feed and fodder for livestock.

Sources are quoted as saying the center would have to give Punjab enough relief money as the people in the countryside are facing serious problems.

There are accusations that the nationalized banks are charging interest from farmers on crop loans in Bhandara district in Mahararshtra even if there is an express order from the govt they should not do so.

As opposed to it, the district central cooperative bank is strictly observing the official order and not charging a farthing from the farmers.

Sources say while the cooperative bank is abiding by the govt order the nationalized banks are betraying avarice and ignoring directives from the government.

The nationalized banks are not only charging a big interest on crop loans but also   not easily returning farmers the mortgaged things. This is a flagrant violation of the govt instruction, they add.

Bhandara District Central Cooperative Bank has not charged or recovered a single rupee from farmers. It has yet to get its Rs 6 crore from the government for previous year. Consequently, it is suffering huge losses, sources claim.