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Journalism of Courage
They collected money in the name of Kargil and the Gujarat earthquake. Then, they spent it all on running a sinking sugar factory. Today, the man at the helm of the sugar cooperative in question, Maharashtra Irrigation Minister Padamsinh Patil of the NCP, struggles to explain why he diverted Rs 51.97 lakh collected from farmer-shareholders to the Terna factory in Osmanabad.
Deposing before the Justice Sawant Commission, probing the charges levelled against him by social activist Anna Hazare on May 31, Patil had this to say:
• Kargil Fund of Rs 15,05,153 not submitted to authority concerned
• Gujarat Flood Victims Relief Fund of Rs 10,60,708 and Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund of Rs 10,30,336 not submitted
• Sugar Development Fund of Rs 1.34 crore used for daily factory expenses, instead of being disbursed as grants to member-farmers for improving yield
• Sugar Complex Fund of Rs 16,01,742 still lying with the factory
To top it all, there are over 500 ‘‘permanent’’ workers still stuck with the sprawling 400-acre factory at Dokhi village in Osmanabad — this is where the money was illegally diverted — who haven’t received their salary.
Said Bashir Kotwal (55), a driver who has been working with the Terna Shetkari Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana for the last 35 years: ‘‘I was drawing Rs 6,500 a month.’’ That was until eight months ago.
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One good monsoon and this problem will be over: Patil
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• Questioned about the Terna irregularities, Padamsinh Patil had this explanation: funds were collected from farmers, the factory was in bad shape; since the government wasn’t paying its dues, the money was used to run their own factory. Patil holds Terna’s former managing director R C Karva responsible for the financial mess: ‘‘A demand draft of Rs 15.05 lakh was drawn in the name of Army Welfare Fund, New Delhi on July 15, 1999 but the local authorities did not accept it. In the meantime, it lapsed and the MD did not bother to inform the board of directors.’’ Why did he not tell this to the Sawant Commission? ‘‘I found out when I made inquiries later. Even the audit reports of the following years did not mention it.’’ What of the factory and the money pumped in by the government? ‘‘Ours is not the only factory in trouble. As many as 60 sugar cooperatives in the state are likely to remain shut this year. Bad monsoon and collapse in sugar prices have hit us hard. Just one good monsoon and we will come out of the problem.’’ |
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Besides, dues to financial institutions have touched the Rs 200-crore mark, with no signs of immediate repayment. And there’s no question of paying dividend to farmers who are also shareholders of Terna.
By Patil’s own admission, dues of Rs 9.6 lakh are to be paid to retired workers.
That was after nearly Rs 65.5 lakh was cut from payments to members for investment in small savings. Only Rs 36.7 lakh was invested—the factory used the remainder.
In Maharashtra, sugar cooperatives are run as fiefdoms by the politically powerful sugar lobby. Irregularities, corruption and mismanagement go unchallenged, officials fully aware of the clout of the sugar barons.
‘‘The goof-up appeared in the audit reports. In some cases, action was initiated by my office but was stayed after Terna went to the High Court,’’ said Bijoy Kumar, Maharashtra’s Commissioner for Sugar.
Now, Patil is all set to pass the buck. He’s blaming his former managing director R C Karva, who has already been booked in a Rs 10-crore sugar exports scam.
Once a trusted aide of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Patil found himself sidelined in the party when his cousin Pawanraje Nimbalkar’s name popped up in the Home Trade multi-crore government securities scam. Nimbalkar, incidentally, was a director of the Terna factory.
Back in Osmanabad, a little less than 20 km from the factory premises in drought-hit Veruda village, Satish Gadve (40) now works as a labourer, earning Rs 50 a day. Once a member of the co-operative, he used to supply the factory with 40 tonnes of sugarcane from his 18-acre field.
