The 42nd AGM of apex body of fishermen co-operatives FISHCOPFED passed off peacefully amidst a looming fear of disruption by those opposed to the continuation of T R Prasad Dora, as Chairman and B K Mishra as MD of the apex body.
Fearing trouble Fishcopfed had informed the local police in advance. A beat constable or two was seen loitering around the Sarita Vihar office, should a fight break out.
It bears recall that Dora Prasad is no longer a chairman in the Odisha co-op and his continuation at the Fishcopfed is being challenged by the likes of Prakash Lonare and others. “I had raised objections to him casting a vote at the NCUI elections and so he did not turn up”, Lonare said to this correspondent.
When delegates raised the issue rather mildly, the MD said that he is yet to hear on the issue either from the court or from the Central Registrar. Fishcopfed bye laws dictate the election of office bearers for five years, he added.
On the issue of extension of the MD, Ather Parwez Ansari, is said to have lobbied hard at NCUI’s hostels where delegates were staying but his efforts failed to have any impact on the meeting. There was a muted whisper about Ansari’s compulsory retirement at the end of the meeting.
In his speech Parasad said that the Ministry owes Rs 2 crore as service tax to Fishcopfed while Rs 4 crore as Corporate commission remains unrealized from the Insurance companies so far. Fishcopfed which suffered a loss of Rs 56 lakh this year demand an increase in the govt grant from Rs 50 lac per annum to Rs 3 crore, the Chairman said.
Fishcopfed whose fortunes had a turnaround in 2006-7 under B K Mishra, was in profit till 2016-17 winning several awards in the process but it lost the track once the service charge to the co-op body was stopped by the govt.
To add to the woes, it failed to get a grant this year as the same was subsumed into a new scheme called Matsya Sampada Yojana. Delegates demanded immediate release of grant and service charges to the co-op body in the meeting.
Luckily for the Fishcopfed, Delhi RoC has approved its request for appointing a Returning Officer. Its BoD’s term is ending on January 8 and its inability to nominate a Returning Officer had finally a solution.
The notification is expected in a day or two and the election process could be expected to be completed in a couple of months, said the MD.
The AGM was attended by about 35 delegates drawn from various states. It was for the first time we had a delegate from J&K, said B K Mishra.