MUMBAI: In a major push to recover money locked up in 469 financially distressed cooperative credit societies, the Maharashtra government has ordered the setting up task forces, or taluka-level committees, to fast track the attachment and auction of properties belonging to directors, officials and members held responsible for financial losses and loan defaults.
The government has also moved to prevent properties attached or mortgaged to the societies from being transferred during recovery proceedings. Sub-registrars have been asked to block such transactions and initiate action to have unauthorised transfers declared illegal.
The government has now brought the revenue, cooperation and home departments into a coordinated recovery mechanism, with committees headed by sub-divisional officers. The committees will track properties, facilitate their attachment, oversee auctions and address administrative and law-and-order hurdles that have slowed recovery proceedings. The committees will also assist in determining the upset price for auctions, while sub-registrars will provide the government valuation or Ready Reckoner value of the properties concerned. “The government has found that recovery officers are facing difficulties in attaching these properties and selling them through auction.
Several writ petitions concerning the matter are also pending before the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, where hearings are underway,” said a senior official of the state cooperation department. A government resolution to this effect was issued by Pravin Darade, principal secretary, state cooperation department, on Friday.
