Rs 3,300 cr loss shown by Hry cooperative sugar mills, claims MLA Balraj Kundu

Independent MLA Balraj Kundu, who is supporting the BJP-JJP government in Haryana, on Wednesday claimed that the state's cooperative sugar mills have shown a loss of Rs 3,300 crore and alleged it was due to corruption and malpractices. Kundu, who represents Meham in the state assembly, told reporters here that he had written a letter to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in this regard and had met him here on Tuesday evening.

The legislator claimed that he had submitted proof to the chief minister on how the loss had taken place in the last four years. In a letter to Khattar, copies of which he released to the media, Kundu said, "It is informed that a loss of Rs 3,300 crore has been shown by the Haryana State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd."

The losses have taken place in the last four years and "it is because of inefficiencies at every step, misutilisation of funds/fraud/corruption due to malpractices adopted for the selfish interest of officers concerned," Kundu said. The MLA alleged that the officers had acted on behalf of a former minister in the previous Khattar government in the state and said he would raise the matter in the next assembly session.

"I would not call it a Rs 3,300 crore loss, but it is a big scam… There are a total of 10 cooperative sugar mills in the state... In 2013, in Meham sugar mill, the loss shown by the mill was Rs 13 crore which rose to Rs 94 crore in 2018-19. "Likewise, every mill which until five years ago on an average was reporting a loss of Rs 10-12 crore, started reporting losses of nearly Rs 100 crore," Kundu claimed.

He also alleged that 80,000 quintal of molasses during 21016-18 was siphoned off from the Panipat sugar mills and alcohol was illegally prepared from this non-accounted quantity of molasses and sold in the black market. "It is pertinent to mention here that the then chairman of Sugarfed got an inquiry initiated in this case, but he was forced to resign as punishment for initiating the inquiry," the MLA claimed.

He alleged that the inquiry is still pending due to "pressure" from the former minister. Describing Khattar as an honest person, Kundu said he has high hopes from the chief minister that he would initiate strict action as per the law in the case.

He also touched upon state Urban Local Bodies Minister Anil Vij constituting a special investigation team (SIT) to look into allegations of irregularities and loss to the exchequer in execution of certain projects implemented under the previous term of the BJP government. The SIT has been formed under the chairmanship of the urban local bodies department's director

The lawmaker had alleged irregularities and fraud to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore in the urban local bodies department due to "corrupt practices". Kundu, a BJP rebel who contested against the official party candidate and won from Meham, had trained his guns on a former minister and gone public with his allegations.

Vij is an upright person and he will take the matter to a logical conclusion, he said. "But I will be meeting him and requesting him to have a senior IAS officer like Ashok Khemka head the SIT. I want that all the members of the SIT should be officers of impeccable integrity," he said.

The Haryana Police had a month ago booked Balraj Kundu and his brother Shivraj Kundu for allegedly cheating a Rohtak resident. A case was registered against Balraj and his brother Shivraj by the Rohtak police under various IPC sections pertaining to cheating, conspiracy and criminal breach of trust on a complaint by Narender Dhankhar, a police spokesperson had said earlier.

Kundu reiterated, "I have been raising my voice against corruption. Such false cases will not suppress my voice".

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)