The elected directors of the Odisha State Cooperative Marketing Federation limited (Markfed) on Tuesday said if the President of the organisation allegedly involved in a number of scams doesn’t resign or the Chief Minister does not take appropriate action within 15 days, they would sit in a dharna at the Markfed office premises here.
At a Press conference here, an elected director, Pramod Samal, said the organisation has not complied with the audit reports for over a decade. The audit for 2013-14 and 2015-2016 is still on. However, the Odisha Cooperative Act 1965 says the annual budget of a society for a financial year should be prepared by the committee and approved by the general body prior to the commencement of the year.
Besides, though the organisation had given the computerisation work to a private firm through the Idcol and paid Rs 5 lakh in 2011, the work has been completed yet. Samal demanded that the private firm be blacklisted and the computerisation process be expedited for sake of transparency.
The Bargarh Collector wrote to the Government stating about a scam of Rs 41 crore in paddy procurement by P-Pass in the district. But a departmental inquiry has been ordered by the Minister by a three member committee. When the Collector has given a report, how can a departmental inquiry be orderedIJ It should have been probed by a higher authority. Bargarh MlA Debesh Acharya had written to the Chief Minister regarding the scam on May 12, 2016, he said.
He further said the bad debt and the losses of the profit-making organisation are mounting. The Markfed has taken cash credit from two banks. But the rating of the organisation has not been done. Similarly, Income Tax returns have not been filed. Markfed president Bibhudatta Pradhan contested for the post of president of the Jilimunda Cooperative Society in his native Bargarh district. But he got only one vote, suffering a humiliating loss.
Earlier, the directors had informed the Chief Minister about the irregularities like the cancellation of the AGM by the Managing Director and the siphoning of funds by the President by submitting false bills. But till now, no action has been taken, Samal alleged.
Another director, N Srinivas, said if the President does not resign, for whom the Markfed is getting a bad name, they would be forced to resign enmasse because they do not want to be held responsible for the alleged misdeeds of the President.
Among others, director Kailash Acharya and All India Anti-Corruption Bureau convenor Subrat Nanda were present.
