The issue of NCCT delink from its parent body NCUI is on the verge of resolution, informed sources confide. The hope of a quick resolution gained strength ever since Dileep Sanghani took over as the president of the apex co-op body NCUI, point out sources.
In the process of finding a respectable exit from the imbroglio, the ministry officials have debated the issue extensively. The two top ministers- Union Cabinet Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and MoS Parshottam Rupala have also been kept in the loop.
Confirming the development, NCUI President Dileep Sanghani said that resolution would have happened a long time back but for some unforeseen developments. First it was farmers’ protest and then the Covid surge which stopped us in our tracks, he added.
It has been decided at the highest level that Sanghani has to hammer out a way out by sitting with the two lawyers–ministry lawyer representing NCCT and NCUI lawyer. “To tell you the truth we had to cancel two meetings with the lawyers due to the raging virus”, Sanghani confirmed.
But now as the Corona scare is receding I am likely to meet the lawyers and find a solution sooner than later, said a confident Sanghani. “The matter has clearance from the highest body in the govt”, said Sanghani hinting at approval of both Tomar and Rupala on the issue.
Indian Cooperative has gathered that earlier Sanghani met the two ministers and impressed on them the need to have NCCT as a part of NCUI, which was the case in the past. It was the tenure of Radha Mohan Singh when a severance was brought about that reduced NCUI’s power and reach.
The present dispensation has agreed to return NCCT to NCUI as the man at the top of NCUI is no longer a non-BJP man, said sources. Sanghani, with his vast experience of running co-op bodies can run NCCT smoothly, they pointed out.
It bears recalling that in February, 2018 the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare issued an order delinking NCCT from NCUI. “Since NCCT is run on the govt grant, why should a private body like NCUI control it”, was the argument of the ministry.
The Ministry letter titled “Establishing National Council of Cooperative Training (NCCT) as an independent, Central and Professional entity-delinking from National Cooperative Union of India” contained several issues from ambivalent status of NCCT to Lecturer scams to a grant of roughly Rs 50 crore given to NCCT for it training programs.
NCUI decided to challenge the order and went to court. Several hearings have already taken place with no results yet. Meanwhile, Sanghani’s arrival on the scene has softened the Ministry’s stand and they have agreed to return NCCT to NCUI.
The story is akin to Nafed which was on the verge of closure till Sanghani took over as its Vice-Chairman. With him at the helm, Nafed was rescued by the government. Today Nafed boasts a huge number of member-cooperators who are benefitting from its smooth operations. “Future of NCCT would also brighten up once its is brought back to the NCUI under Sanghani”, claimed a top NCUI official.