State govt appoints a five-member administrative board for Gokul

Kolhapur: Maharashtra govt on Monday appointed a five-member board of administrators to take charge of the Kolhapur Zilha Dudh Utpadak Sangh, popularly known as Gokul dairy, following the expiry of the elected board's term. The administrators will assume control of the dairy from May 5.The board will be chaired by Satara district deputy registrar Sanjaykumar Sudrik, with members including Chandgad assistant registrar Pradeep Malgave, Mulshi assistant registrar Sunil Dhaygude, special auditor (Kolhapur) Sagar Balkawade, and Chandrakant Parulekar, president of a charitable hospital in Kolhapur. The appointment orders were issued by divisional deputy registrar (milk) Rajkumar Patil.According to the orders, the tenure of the existing board of directors ended on May 4, necessitating the appointment of administrators to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Union. Copies of the appointment letter have been sent to all directors of Gokul and the executive director.The appointments have been made under provisions of sections 73AAA(3) and 77(a)(1)(b)(ii) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, as amended. The order states that the administrator has been appointed to fill the management vacuum created due to the expiry of the directors' term and the inability to continue in office.Meanwhile, the outgoing board of directors issued a press release on Monday claiming that Gokul's performance during the past five years was the best in its 63-year history. The board appealed against what it described as attempts to unnecessarily defame the dairy.According to the board, milk procurement prices rose sharply during its tenure — buffalo milk by Rs 14 per litre and cow milk by Rs 10 per litre — against an election promise of a Rs 2 per litre increase. Daily milk collection increased from 12 lakh litres to 20 lakh litres, while annual turnover rose from Rs 2,551 crore to Rs 4,100 crore. The authorised share capital increased from Rs 100 crore to Rs 250 crore, investments from Rs 322 crore to Rs 594 crore, and fixed assets from Rs 242 crore to Rs 339 crore.The administrative takeover comes amid delays in holding elections to the cooperative. Recently, the Bombay high court's Kolhapur bench directed the state cooperatives department to complete the scrutiny of 1,320 primary member milk societies within 80 days before conducting elections. These societies have been served notices on why they should not be liquidated for alleged violations of the Cooperative Societies Act.A delegation led by minister Hasan Mushrif and guardian minister Prakash Abitkar had urged the chief minister and deputy chief minister not to appoint an administrator and to conduct elections immediately. However, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis later clarified that under the amended cooperative laws, appointing an administrator is mandatory once the board's term expires.Rajya Sabha MP Dhananjay Mahadik said the administrative control was a legal consequence of the delayed elections. He added that the Mahayuti partners would contest the upcoming Gokul elections jointly and expressed confidence of sweeping all seats.