Mumbai, Mar 19: The Mumbai high court has barred the state government from disbursing share capital to proposed co-operative sugar and spinning factories in Maharashtra. The court has stayed the disbursement of share capital worth Rs 15 crore already cleared by the government for cooperative spinning mills promoted by deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde and cooperation minister Jaiprakash Mundada.The judgment was delivered by a division bench comprising Justices AP Shaha and SS Parkar. The next hearing will take place on March 25. The judges observed that such a stay was necessary as the amount allocated for the share capital would otherwise lapse after March 31.
The ruling Shiv Sena-BJP government has received a major jolt following the judgment especially when the saffron alliance was making all out efforts to break the Congress monopoly in the cooperative sector by "hook or crook." Former minister, Patangrao Kadam (Sonhira cooperative sugar factory and Sangmeshwar cooperative spinning mill), CongressMLAs Dilip Valse Patil (Bhimashankar cooperative sugar factory) and Jayant Patil (Rajaram Bapu cooperative spinning mill) in separate contempt petitions had challenged the state government's "partial and vindictive" attitude in the disbursement of share capital.
Sonhira's share capital was estimated at Rs 8.77 crore while state government assistance was Rs 20 crore, Bhimashankar's requirement was Rs 8.90 crore as share capital and Rs 20 crore as government aid, Sangameshwar, Rs 5.88 crore share capital and Rs 20 crore as government aid, and Rajaram Bapu, Rs 9 crore share capital and Rs 20 crore government assistance. The petitioners said the government sidelined them though they were eligible to get share capital since last two years. They brought to the court's notice that the recommendations were made by the cooperation commissioner and directorate of textile and handlooms.
The petitioners alleged that the government flouted rules and failed to honour an assurance given to the court on the disbursementof share capital to those factories which satisfied all formalities and completed the eligibility criteria. The petitioners also charged that the saffron alliance had distributed share capital to their sympathisers but had failed to complete necessary formalities required for the development of such factories.
They pointed out that the government sanctioned the share capital to the cooperative spinning mills to be developed by Munde, Mundada, rural development minister, Anna Dange, and an independent MLA, Prithviraj Deshmukh, though they were not eligible for it.
Interestingly, Neela Satyanarayan, until recently the textile secretary, was transferred by the government as she had refused signing the necessary file on disbursement of share capital to non-eligible promoters. Satyanarayan had warned that such action would amount to contempt of court.
The division bench took serious note of this episode and asked the cooperation secretary, cooperation commissioner and director of textile for the nexthearing.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
