Cases of corruption in co-operatives abound but few can match the one taking place in Rajasthan based Ganganagar Industrial Cooperative State. The Chairman and directors of this co-operative are under a cloud for indulging in serious irregularities selling land meant for developing the industrial sector to their relatives.
The society land was given for infrastructure projects such as construction of roads and post office but the Chairman Vijay Jindal and one of the Directors Shivdayal Gupta allegedly sold the pieces of land by dividing it into tiny plots to their relatives.
As per the letter issued in 1981 by district authorities, the land cannot be used for residential or business purposes, it can be only be used for developing infrastructure for industries yet the cooperators did not budge from indulging into wrong-doing.
Chetan Soni, a social worker from Agrasen Nagar which is 472 km away from Jaipur is the main complainant. Talking to Indian Cooperative Soni said Industrial Cooperative State has not stuck to the guidelines and used land fraudulently cutting it into 290 shops.
Soni informed he brought the matter to the notice of the State Registrar. “I have written letter to Rekha Gupta the
Registrar and informed her about the situation last month. She assured us that she would look into the matter”, Soni added.
Later when Indian Cooperative talked to the State Registrar Rekha Gupta, she said proceedings are going on and soon the action will be taken against the corrupt.
Vijay Jindal the Chairman of Ganganagar Industrial Cooperative State Chairman refused to talk to Indian Cooperative but denied allegations saying probe is already underway. He didn’t respond to further inquiries and slammed the phone.
Co-operative leaders routinely meet and demand govt should not bring unfriendly co-op bills but their voice falls to silence when rampant cases of corruptions are reported in media. Their collective silence also emboldens the govt to strangulate even the genuine cooperative organizations.
The trouble starts when a Govt and its Ministers/Officials start patronising a select CoOp, in the instant case apparently Govt land was made available to the CoOp
The patronised CoOp will/may now state that MSME Sector did not avail the plots and hence it is now being offered to shops. And these ingenious Operators ( I don’t call them CoOperators ) must have also craftily obtained prior permission from the authorities.
This is how CoOps – when not Autonomous – are used for personal benefit and to loot public assets.
( *I do not know anything about this CoOp or its Promoters/Office Bearers. I have just imagined the cousre of events, after reading the Report )