The Annual General Meeting of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Society (IFFCO) to be held on Thursday is expected to be stormy one.
The issue regarding transfer of residential houses to Managing Director Uday Shankar Awasthi and Joint MD Rakesh Kapoor by IFFCO will also be discussed in the meeting.
The AGM on May 29, 2012 had put up a dissent note but since the majority was with Awasthi, the proposal regarding transferring of properties was passed in his name and Kapoor was also beneficiary of largesse.
Following the controversy, Awasthi and his deputy has offered to surrender the property to IFFCO but IFFCO Board has endorsed the transfer of properties to his name.
Sources in IFFCO said that the issue of transferring of residential houses to MD and Joint MD is listed for discussion at Annual General Meeting, to be held at National Cooperative Union of India’s premises, Siri Fort Institutional Area.
The minutes of the last AGM indicate that one of delegates has expressed his dissent against the transfer of ‘IFFCO Ghar” located in posh Hauz Khas to the MD and the house in Vasant Vihar to the Joint MD.
The member had cautioned the AGM that the said properties are the assets of IFFCO and transfer of these two properties will send a wrong signal to the smaller societies.
IFFCO had allotted l-4, Hauz Khas Enclave to Awasthi and B-9/12 (Ground Floor + Basement) Vasant Vihar to Kapoor as official residence. later IFFCO has transferred these properties in the name of Awasthi and Kapoor.
Both Awasthi and Kapoor is currently residing at the official residence of IFFCO. The two properties are estimated to be over `80-100 crore. The area houses the high and mighty of the society.
The Pioneer first reported controversy that IFFCO MD (and also Joint MD) has gifted himself prime property in South Delhi. The Deputy Commissioner (DC)of South West district, Nikhil Kumar wrote to Pradeep Kumar, the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), Ashish Bahuguna Secretary (Agriculture), Sudhir Mittal Secretary (Fertilizers), Dalip Singh Additional Secretary (Cooperation) and RK Tiwari Joint Secretary (Cooperation) and Divisional Commissioner of Delhi, about the brazen abuse of DoPT guidelines. After the media report, Central Vigilance Commissioner has also started investigation in the matter.
Worried over media criticism over transferring of posh properties in the name of MD and JMD, IFFCO moved a petition in the high court challenging the DoPT guidelines put the cooperative under the direct watch of the CVC.
IFFCO contended that the Government has no shareholding in it and is under the “mistaken belief” that it has jurisdiction on the cooperative.