Team Goemkarponn
VASCO: The general body of the Sahakar Urban Co-operative Credit Society has unanimously passed a resolution to initiate legal action against the former government-appointed administrative committee for distributing loans worth ₹2.97 crore in violation of cooperative regulations.
The 34th Annual General Meeting of the Sahakar Urban Co-operative Credit Society was held at the Ravindra Bhavan auditorium. Responding to questions raised by shareholders, newly-elected chairman Uday Prabhu revealed that the state government had dissolved the previous board of directors headed by Ulhas Faldesai three years ago and appointed a three-member administrative committee in its place. This committee, during its tenure, had allegedly disbursed loans totaling ₹2.97 crore to 37 retired employees of a particular establishment without collecting the mandatory documentation.
Shareholders raised concerns over the issue, terming it serious. They pointed out that the loans were granted without any security measures, amounting to a breach of law. A unanimous resolution was passed to pursue legal action against the committee members responsible for this violation.
Shareholder Umesh Sonurlekar and others highlighted that after the 2019 election process was challenged in the High Court, the then board under Ulhas Faldesai appointed a lawyer at the society’s expense. As per Cooperative Registrar’s Act Section 57, this appointment was deemed illegal. Therefore, under Section 83 of the Act, it was resolved to recover the amount of ₹2,27,000 spent on legal fees from Faldesai and other directors.
Additionally, the meeting resolved to investigate loans sanctioned by the administrative committee between January and March 2024, particularly those where the interest rates were reduced.
Chairman Uday Prabhu announced a 12% dividend for shareholders, stating that the society had registered a profit of ₹1.09 crore this year. Prabhu also responded effectively to various queries raised by the shareholders during the meeting. The release by Shakar Urban Cooperative Society, Vasco stated.
Among those who participated in the discussions were Ulhas Faldesai, Subhash Khandolkar, Suvarna Parab, Premanand Kerkar, Baburay Naik, Shaba Naik, Narendra Gurav and others. On the dais were Vice-Chairman Santosh Khorjuvekar, Secretary Jayant Narooji, Treasurer Umesh Sonurlekar, and board members Sudesh Naik, Santosh Prabhu, Madhav Kudalekar, along with cooperative experts Prabhakar Naak, Vaibhav Morajkar, Suchitra Narooji, and society officials Sunil Naik and Shaila Mayekar. The vote of thanks was delivered by Vice-Chairman Khorjuvekar.
