Senior cooperator Satish Marathe has opposed the Modi govt plan to revive the ailing agri-cooperative NAFED and wanted the government instead to come up with a robust new organization in its place.
Writing his detailed reaction in the comment box of one of the stories in Indian Cooperative on Nafed Marathe said “Co-operatives are not State Agencies and the Govt has little or no control over its functioning.”
“As a policy, Govts should not never fund an ailing co-operative just to keep it alive or to ensure continued employment to the staff working in such Co-ops’, he wrote further.
In India, in the absence of a well thought out Exit Policy for ailing entities and those Chairmen / Directors who were responsible for the mess, the country has been burdened by infusion of public money going down the drain, Marathe felt.
He further wrote that NAFED is beyond repair and no amount of govt support will help it turn around. It is advisable that they should start a new entity that will take over its functions.
As for ensuring continued employment to the Staff who are/were not responsible for the ‘mess‘, they be redeployed on compassionate grounds, Marathe added.
Some time ago a review meeting on the progress of the proposal for revival of NAFED was taken up by Union State Cooperative Minister Mohanbhai Kundaria. Several cooperators including NCUI President Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, Bijender Singh and Vice-Chairman of Nafed Dileepbhai Sanghani had participated in the meeting.
Indian Cooperative has gathered that Kundariya insisted on the finalization of the Cabinet note for the revival. The matter has been pending since long. He has put his ministry’s officials on the job of readying a note on the revival package to be presented before the Cabinet soon.
The govt revival plan includes an annual grant of Rs 30 crore for a period of 5 years to the Nafed to meet its financial obligations including salaries of employees and administrative expenses. The govt has also resolved to give procurement contracts to the Nafed so that its earnings improve.
The govt has also offered to stand as guarantor before the lending banks which have moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal for recovery of their outstanding dues of around Rs 1700 crore.