Bedi seeks report on financial status of coops in Puducherry

A day after a Minister was denied fuel on credit by a cooperative supermarket, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi on Saturday sought a report on all cooperative institutions in the union territory.

Bedi, currently on a visit to New Delhi, said in a whatsapp message to mediapersons that she had mentioned in her letter to the secretary to cooperatives Ashok Kumar that the "latest fiasco when diesel was not given or made available for the official car of a Minister by a cooperative society is a consequence of a long-lasting malady."

"It needs a course correction with a sense of urgency," she said.

 

On Friday, Agriculture Minister R Kamalakannan had to forgo his official car and had to travel by bus from Karaikal to Puducherry to attend a cabinet meeting on Friday, after a cooperative store denied fuel on credit for his vehicle.

Official sources have said the cooperative supermarket - Amudhasurabi - remained unpaid over the last five years and there were dues from government departments and also from the office of Council of Ministers for the fuel supplied to official vehicles or for supply of other consumer products from its provisions stores.

The former IPS officer directed the secretary to submit to her a report by January 20 on the details of financial, administrative and performance of each cooperative followed by societies to "stem the rot."

She asked the secretary to explain who is wrong, why it is wrong, since when it has been wrong and what were the reasons for the failure (denying fuel to Minister).

Also, she questioned the propriety of current policy of posting senior government employees to run cooperative societies from the department of cooperatives or elsewhere.

She said the registrars of co-operatives were appointees who were supposed to audit and ensure that cooperatives and societies functioned appropriately according to rules and regulations.

The Lieutenant governor also wanted to know if the registrars could audit the societies independently if they run the organisations or if they become managing directors or chairmen of the societies themselves.

"Weneed to urgently revisit our policy of posting the senior employees to run the cooperatives from the Department of Cooperatives or elsewhere," she said.