Several sugar industrial units have defaulted on repayment of loans to Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank,the total amount involved being more than 1500 crore.
Armed with an order from the Bombay high court, MSCB is set to auction over a dozen sugar factories to collect its money.
Significantly, one of the factories to be sold by the bank is Sant Muktabai Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana (SMSSK), the board of which is presided over by President Pratibha Patil’s brother.
Non-recovery of loans had pushed the bank into a crisis and the bank had no alternative to auctioning to overcome the crisis.