The Hindu : Karnataka News : Cooperative societies blamed for `loan scam'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 09, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Cooperative societies blamed for `loan scam'

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, OCT. 8. Two days after the Lokayukta roads, the Congress-nominated Chairman of the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation, Mohammed Obdaidulla Sharief, has contested the preliminary findings about the recovery of loans.

Mr. Sharief demanded a Corps of Detectives (CoD) investigation into the affairs of the Thyagaraja Cooperative Bank that had received funds from the corporation for disbursal of loans.

Mr. Sharief, who tried to defend the functioning of the corporation, admitted to a few lapses in its functioning. He said action would be taken against officials found guilty. He told presspersons that whatever lapses in implementing the schemes of the corporation were pointed out by the Lokayukta would be rectified.

He said the Thyagaraja Cooperative Bank in Bangalore had not disbursed Rs. 63 lakhs to the beneficiaries identified by the corporation in 1998. A few co-operative societies in Belgaum district had also failed to disburse loans of Rs. 76.96 lakhs. They had failed to repay loans obtained from the corporation.

The corporation would urge the Government to order a Corps of Detectives (CoD) probe to find out what purpose the Thyagaraja Cooperative Bank and the cooperative societies had used up the funds. He would hold a meeting with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to discuss the lapses in the administration.

Incorrect figures

Mr. Sharief said some figures given by the Lokayukta with regard to the recovery of loans were incorrect. Since its inception in 1986 to August 2004, the corporation had sanctioned margin money loan of Rs. 36.14 crores to 60,000 beneficiaries under Swavalambana Scheme. The demand under the scheme was Rs. 25.30 crores and Rs. 13.77 crores had been recovered as on August 31.

The Lokayukta had said that of the Rs. 58 crores of loans sanctioned, only Rs. four crores had been recovered. Mr. Sharief said loans to the tune of Rs. 45.15 crores had been given in e last five years. Of this, Rs. 18.48 crores had been recovered.

The Government's allocation of share capital for implementation of Swavalambana Margin Money Loan Scheme was insufficient.

Dishonoured cheques

About the non-remittance of cheques received by the beneficiaries, the corporation had remitted around 300 to 400 cheques that had bounced. Notices had been issued notices to the beneficiaries. The other cheques were not remitted to the bank following fears of their being dishonoured.

The corporation could not take any legal action with regard to dishonoured cheques as they were for amounts less than Rs. 2,000 each. In most cases, the cost of litigation would be more than the value of the cheque.

Irregularities denied

He denied that irregularities had been committed in the implementation of the Ganga Kalyana scheme. The corporation had been allocating funds to districts based on the budget and minorities population. The district manager would call the applications and the taluk-level committee, headed by the local MLA, would select the beneficiaries.

The corporation would issue the work order for drilling borewells to selected agencies based on the guidelines of the State-level committee of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes and minorities headed by the Principal Secretary to the Government, Department of Social Welfare.

After drilling the borewells, a geologist from the corporation would inspect the borewell drilled and based on his report the corporation would pay to the agencies, Mr. Sharief said.

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