The current chit fund probe by the CBI is a welcoming relief for the common man who still believes that the law of the land is supreme.
But the CBl has netted politicians, media owners and builders, while safely ignoring the bureaucrats even as their role was crucial for the growth of the illegal deposit collection firms. In order to legitimatise their illegal business, some chit fund companies got them registered as Multipurpose Cooperative Societies throwing all norms to the winds and it is beyond doubt that they could get it done by the some venal officials.
The responsible officials starting from the rank of Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies I Deputy Registrars of Cooperative Societies to all the mandarins of the Cooperative administration acted in great haste from 2009 to 2011 for releasing necessary registration certificates in favour of these firms.
The State Cooperation Department takes months and years in case of common people to issue them registration certificate, but in respect of the chit fund companies, the required scrutiny and verification were blatantly ignored for vested interest.
In a glaring example, the Artha Tatwa Group got registration certificate from the ARCS Bhubaneswar Circle on November 3, 2010. Neither the application of AT Group was recorded in the diary book nor did the file dealing with issue of registration certificate bear any dated signatures. The then ARCS, Bhubaneswar Circle was offered a prized post in the Odisha State Agricultural Marketing Board, a coveted position, wherein the Minister of Cooperation reigns supreme as the chairman. This all happened during the period from 2009 to 2011.
Intriguingly enough, these chit fund companies floated various advertisements in order to entice the credulous public by flouting the restrictions issued by the Reserve Bank of India on fixing of rate of interests which is applicable to all financial institutions including that of the Cooperative organisations. But the Cooperation department did not put any check and rather legitimatized their functioning and schemes by issuing them registration certificates. Thus their empire of money making attained gargantuan heights. Needless to say, such a scam of Himalayan magnitude could not have taken place if the Cooperation department had had a Nelson’s eye over the matter.
Surprisingly, the CBl sleuths are not taking such errant department officials and Ministers to task. It is learnt from the grapevine that a powerful Minister is fairly and squarely responsible for nourishing chit fund firm Astha in the name of his henchman Subhransu lenka who is still languishing in the custody of State Crime Branch.
Intellectuals and the public at large are waiting to see how the country’s prime investigating agency is going to act in days ahead.