The Bombay High Court has directed Maharashtra government to maintain caution while processing applications for starting cooperative credit societies and check their bonafides so as to prevent them from going bust over unpaid loans, reports Press Trust of India.
A division bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Jalgaon district unit of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) over mismanagement of credit societies across the state.
The bench was earlier informed that of over 1,700 cooperative credit societies in the state, 469 were declared sick. Besides, around 135 were revived, licences of 35 credit societies were cancelled and action has been initiated against 104 auditors and over 2,500 officers of such societies. Also, about Rs 527 crores had been recovered, the state government told the High Court.
The High Court directed the state government to file an affidavit stating what progress has been made in respect of the recovery of an amount of Rs 487 crore from 1,633 delinquent directors and employees of credit societies.