Prasad Dora, a cooperator from Odisha and well-known face in Delhi Cooperative circles, lost both his chairmanship of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank as well as the apex body of fishery cooperative-Fishcopfed.
The main reason for Dora’s removal from Odisha State Cooperative Bank chairman position is the change in political leadership in Odisha. Dora, who belongs to the BJD and is a close associate of former CM Naveen Patnaik, was removed following the BJP’s rise to power in the state.
Releasing an order in this connection on Wednesday, Odisha Registrar of Cooperative Societies Pravu Kalyana Pattnayak said, “In exercise of powers conferred under sub- section 7 of Section 32 of the Odisha Cooperative Societies Act 1962, do hereby place the Committee of Management of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank Ltd., Bhubaneswar Under suspension with immediate effect”, he stated.
“During the period of suspension of the committee, the Commissioner-cum- Secretary, Cooperation Department, Govt. of Odisha shall manage the affairs of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank Ltd. until further orders”, he added.
Meanwhile, in a statement in the Odisha Assembly State Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta raised the issue of misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 224.61 crore detected in various cooperative banks across Odisha.
The irregularities came to fore during the financial audit of Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB), 17 Central Cooperative Banks (CCBs), and 13 Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) in the state, said Samata answering a question asked by Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati
Regarding Fishcopfed, a few months ago, Dora arbitrarily became the Chairman of the apex body of fishery cooperatives. However, after receiving complaints from several people associated with Fishcopfed and following the direction of the Delhi High Court, the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) appointed an arbitrator to settle the dispute regarding the elections of the board of directors.
In his order, CRCS Anand Kumar Jha wrote, “In exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (4) of section 84 of the MSCS Act, 2002, I hereby appoint Sh. S.K Srivastava, IAS (Retired) as Arbitrator to settle the dispute of election of Board of Directors between Sh. Ramdas P. Sandhe and Ors., and National Federation of Fishers Cooperatives Ltd. (FISHCOPFED) as per the provisions of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, Act, 1996 read with Section 84 of the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002”.Jha said.
“The fee and other expenses of the Arbitrator shall be governed by the provisions of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996. The dispute has to be settled by the Arbitrator within the time limit prescribed in the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996”, he said.
It is worth recalling that the election of Fishcopfed has been mired in controversy since 2021. Previously, then-CRCS Vivek Aggarwal appointed Nafed Additional MD Sunil Kumar Singh to settle the dispute of the election of the BoDs. Singh, in his order, declared the election null and void. Now CRCS again appointed a new administrator to resolve the election dispute.
Now, all eyes are on the decision of the arbitrator regarding the election dispute.