Nayagarh District Central Cooperative Bank Committee dissolved amid corruption allegations

The Odisha government on Thursday dissolved the Nayagarh District Central Cooperative Bank Committee amid serious corruption allegations. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies of Odisha issued the suspension order while placing the bank under the administration of the District Collector.

“I, Sri Santosh Kumar Dash, OAS (SS), Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Odisha, in exercise of powers conferred on me under sub-section (7) of Section 32 of the Odisha Cooperative Societies Act, 1962, do hereby place the Committee of Management of Nayagarh District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd., Nayagarh under suspension with immediate effect,” stated the order dated 6 February 2025.

The actions stem after grievous allegations against the bank committee surfaced following the appointment of SS Das Associates, a Nayagarh-based consultancy firm, to resolve the bank's Rs 362 crore income tax fine.

The firm was allegedly paid Rs 2.1 crore, raising suspicions of the lack of competitive selection and legal procedures. Further, the official notice outlined numerous irregularities. For one, the committee, led by its chairman, appointed the consultancy firm without proper procedures and unilaterally decided to pay consultancy fees at 1% of the demand.

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Further investigation by senior officers revealed possible misappropriation of funds and manipulation of the bank’s records. Additionally, the committee appointed a retired bank employee as an OSD to the President, violating existing regulations.

Finally, the findings also disclosed that the committee also decided on excessive remuneration, house rent, telephone, and entertainment allowances for the President, causing significant financial losses to the bank and its farmer members.

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In light of these findings, the Registrar dissolved the committee, highlighting their actions as detrimental to the bank’s interest.

The Economic Offences Wing of the Crime Branch is set to conduct further inquiries into these irregularities while the District Collector has been appointed as the administrator to manage the bank’s affairs until further orders.