The Nafed share-holders are in a fix and they do not know whether to continue their relations with the agri-cooperative or not. Their indecisiveness stems from the fact that the Nafed has turned out to be a sinking boat.
The Nafed board meanwhile has decided to raise the cost of share-price from Rs 40,000 to 1 lakh in one sweep. Though the steep hike was announced a couple of years ago, the board is insistent on its implementation with rigour now.
“Only those delegates are eligible to attend AGM who are ready to raise the stakes”, told Nafed Chairman Bijender Singh while talking to Indian Cooperative.com. It a decision taken by the board a couple of years ago and there is nothing new in it, Mr Singh added.
The question haunting the share-holders is –if it is worthwhile to invest further in a cooperative venture that shows no sign of improving In the aftermath of tie-up losses that the Nafed suffered, the government has stopped all aid to the agri-cooperative leading to a state of uncertainty.
Talking to Indian Cooperative the Nafed Chairman Bijender Singh said that the govt wanted to curtail Chairman’s powers and we conceded.
On the question why the government is not moving forward to help the pride of the cooperative sector come out of the present crisis, Bijender said “put this question to the government not to us”.
Indian Cooperative has reliably learnt that the government is waiting for the legal settlement of the issue of recovery of dues; the Court of Central Registrar had imposed on defaulters in the wake of Rs 1400 crore tie-up losses the Nafed suffered on account of wrong-doings by a few directors.
The share-holders are a confused lot. The dividend given by the Nafed is 5 to 7 per cent and this is hardly attractive enough for them to remain attached to the agri-coooperative, one of the share-holders told Indian Cooperative.
Nafed detractors meanwhile are busy fueling rumours such as the Nafed is trying to get rid of old delegates or the Nafed is trying to cover its tie-up losses through share-holders.
Bijender Singh dismissed such rumours as childish saying that the kind of losses suffered by the Nafed could never be recovered through share-holders. “The Government alone can bail the Nafed out”, he said emphatically.