the goan I network
PANAJI
The State government on Friday dissolved the elected Board of Directors of the beleaguered Goa Sate Co-operative Milk Producers Union, popular for its Goa Dairy brand name, suspended its Managing Director Dr N C Sawant and appointed a senior bureaucrat Damodar Moraskar as its Administrator.
In an order passed on Friday, Registrar of Co-operative Societies Sanjiv Gadkar said, the directors of the Society namely Dhananjay Dessai, Vithoba Dessai, Baburao Dessai, Naresh Malik, Gurudas Parab, Mahadav Sahakari and Rajendra Sawant are disqualified to continue on the Board of Directors.
Gadkar in his order quoted section 59(11) of the Goa Co-operative Act and two inspection reports which found discrepancies, illegalities and irregularities in the working of the directors which was detrimental to the Society to dissolve the BoD.
The order also holds four directors namely, Shrikant Naik, Vijaykant Gaonkar,
Shivanand Pednekar and Ulhas Sinari, responsible for the loss caused by the decision to purchase fill packed machine, ice-cream plant, recruitment of staff and purchase of raw material which it said will be determined and quantified by filing separate misappropriation proceedings under section 82 of the Act.
Gadkar also held the managing director Dr N C Sawant “wholly responsible” for the irregularities and mismanagement and placed him under suspension in the order.
Gadkar’s order also recommends a detailed inquiry by a “competent authority” against the assistant registrar of co-operative societies, Ponda zone, for his failure to guide the BoD in procurement and recruitment despite being a director and the representative of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies.
The 11-member BoD which was disqualified on Friday was elected in April 2017 and trouble began to plague the Dairy shortly thereafter when the chairman issued orders to suspend the Managing Director N C Sawant alleging misappropriation of crores of rupees by manipulating tendering process to procure machinery.
However, the directors held back Sawant’s suspension and instead voted Sahakari out as chairman but the state government acceded to the latter’s demand and appointed a chartered accountant to conduct an inquiry into the purchase of machinery.
