KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh, popularly known as Gokul, has decided to move to court against a company owned by the Mahadik family for causing losses of Rs 7 lakh to the exchequer of the cooperative dairy.
The administrators of Gokil claim a loss to the dairy is a loss of its stakeholders — mainly the farmers who supply milk to the dairy. The dairy was run by the Mahadevrao Mahadik-led panel for over two-and-a-half decades. The Satej Patil-led panel eventually defeated Mahadik’s panel.
Patil had earlier alleged that a company owned by the Mahadik family was providing tankers to the dairy to transport milk to Pune and Mumbai markets, and the tankers were rented at a higher rate to benefit the Mahadiks monetarily. The allegations found traction among the farmers, however, the Mahadiks continued to claim that the deal was fair and transparent.
After the Patil-led panel won, the administration cancelled the contract with the Mahadiks’ company.
Vishwas Patil, the chairman of the dairy, said, “The company had 40 tankers that got the contract. The contract tenure ended and, we did not renew it. They went to court, bit lost. We won. However, expenses of Rs 7 lakh were made on legal fees, which was not necessary. They caused the loss unnecessarily. Therefore, to recover the expenses, we are moving a petition to court. The money belongs to the farmers.”
The Mahadiks were approached for a comment, but no response was received. Close aides said the decision by the dairy is to further politicise the cooperative entity.
