West Bengal Cooperation Minister Ashok Kirtania has reportedly ordered an audit of all long-term loans distributed from PACS to cooperative banks in West Bengal amid allegations of financial irregularities and misuse of cooperative assets during the 15 years of the TMC government in the state, according to media reports.
Speaking in Kolkata, the minister alleged that corruption had taken place at multiple levels within certain district cooperative banks.
He claimed that funds belonging to cooperative institutions were misused and that properties linked to cooperative banks were allegedly sold at undervalued rates, causing losses to the institutions.
Kirtania stated that the audit would examine the functioning of cooperative banks, including loan disbursement patterns and property transactions carried out during previous administrations.
The development has triggered fresh political debate in the state’s cooperative sector, which plays a significant role in rural credit distribution and agricultural financing across West Bengal.
