Sachin Society mired in controversy

Member accuses management of improper conduct, chairman denies charge

A member of the Sachin Udyognagar Co-operative Society has accused the society office bearers of indulging in unfair methods for personal gains.

Bharat Raval, a city-based financier, said the society purchased over 50 lakh square metres from local farmers and sold it to various industrialists despite it not being declared a non-agricultural plot.

The society was set up in 1979 and has about 150 industrial units, mostly focusing on textiles.

"The society is a co-operative society, but Hemant Hojiwala, the current chairman, and the earlier chairmen have treated the society like a private firm. They have committed various irregularities during these years, but the biggest is the fact that the entire land which the society purchased from the farmers is yet to be converted into non agricultural land," he said.

However, Hojiwala refuted the charge. "It is true that the land on which the industrial units have been built is not non-agricultural, but it has been reserved for the purpose. We have written several times to the state government to enquire if the society is supposed to pay money for converting the land into a non-agricultural plot, but we have not received any directions so far," he said.

"The state government had reserved this land as non-agricultural land through a special notification, but it does not mean that it has been converted into such land. The society chairman and other directors have intentionally misinterpreted the clause, and sold the land to several industrialists," Raval alleged.

He said, all these years, the society has paid the revenue taxes according to the rates prevalent for agricultural land, even though the land is used for non agricultural purposes. The society has evaded crores of rupees as revenue taxes and caused huge losses of the government, he added.

Hojiwala said allegations that the society was being run as a private firm were wrong. He instead levelled allegations against Bharat Raval.

"Raval is a notorious element, a history-sheeter. He joined the society just eight months back, so how can he claim with such confidence that irregularities are taking place in the society since the past several years. Raval tried to extort money from us, but we refused to bow down."

Raval also informed about a major sand digging scandal that has taken place in the land owned by the society.

"Approximately 60 acres of land has been dug and the sand completely removed over the last seven or eight years. The society did not have any license for removing sand from the land, but the society members were told otherwise. The society has also given receipts regarding the sale of sand to the members. According to our estimates, sand worth Rs 25 crore has been illegally dug from the land," Raval said.

Refuting the charge, Hojiwala said: "We have not indulged in any irregularities. The sand was dug up, but it was used for building roads in the Sachin industrial area".

"We had informed that Mines & Minerals department about the scandal on February 15, but no steps have been taken against the society chairman and other directors, which we believe is due to the high contacts of the Hojiwala family," Raval said.