NAFED: Chadha gets warm send-off; JS Rajbir takes charge

The Agri co-operative giant Nafed’s Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar Chadha was given a warm send-off on Monday at the Nafed headquarters at Ashram Chowk in Delhi, after completing his fruitful tenure of five years. Agricultural Ministry’s official Mr Rajbir Singh, a Joint Secretary level officer has been given the additional charge till a permanent appointment is made.

Chadha played a crucial role in turning around the fortunes of Nafed-the pride of co-operatives in the country. No wonder, several prominent cooperators participated in his farewell. “When he came, Nafed’s reserve was zero and when he left Nafed’s reserve swelled to Rs 700-800 crores!”, said Nafed Chairman Bijender Singh paying tributes to the outgoing MD who had a unique style of beginning new initiatives by taking the entire Board into confidence.

Representatives of about seven national-level cooperative organizations participated in his grand farewell held Monday afternoon in Delhi, said Bijender. “Every top cooperator and every top co-operative official felt a sense of loss at his departure,” Singh said in an emotionally choked voice.

“IFFCO MD Dr. U S Awasthi, NCDC Managing Director, Sundeep Nayak and even Chandra Pal Singh who is busy campaigning for his son Yash Pal’s election came on video-conferencing on the occasion”, said Singh underling the high credibility enjoyed by Chadha in cooperative circles.

Chadha created many milestones at Nafed by initiating several new schemes which grabbed media attention. His zest for forming new FPOs, signing MoUs with several government departments, and his tireless efforts to save the environment were always appreciated in the cooperative corridors.

This month alone, while he was packing his luggage, Chadha signed an MoU for the launching of six, “One District One Product (ODOP) brands”. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries signed an agreement with NAFED for developing 10 brands of selected ODOPs under the branding and marketing component of the PMFME scheme.

Nafed and its MD also figured recently before the Prime Minister when a farmer from Rajasthan described how Nafed has helped him in doing the business of Honey effectively. Under his leadership, Nafed vowed to set up 100 Bio-CNG plants recently.

Among his many initiatives, efforts to get a market for Arunachal Kiwis and J&K Saffron were noteworthy. Nafed under his guidance also focused on the professional cultivation of apples in J&K and Makhana in Bihar.

In his last AGM, Nafed got its profit doubled and it also offered the highest ever dividends to shareholders. No wonder, the new man in his position at Nafed will have a high benchmark to measure up to.