Sahyadri sugar mill brass to be prosecuted

The sugar commissioner of Maharashtra has directed the regional joint commissioner (sugar) to initiate police action against the chairman and managing director of the Sahyadri Cooperative Sugar Factory (SSF), Kolhapur, for providing false data to the state government and defrauding it of Rs 9.47 crore.

The factory management falsely inflated the figures of its own equity contribution in the factory and collected a total amount of Rs 12 crore from the state government.

Chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde informed the state legislative assembly in a written reply on Tuesday that the equity contribution of the promoters of the factory was in fact only Rs 80 lakh.

"The management of the factory instead of showing Rs 80 lakh as their own contribution to the equity share capital of the factory, inflated and showed this as Rs 4 crore on the basis of which Rs 12 crore was sanctioned as the state government's equity contribution to the sugar factory. The factory management used false information to secure an excess amount of Rs 9.47 crore as government contribution to the factory's share capital."

Earlier, the chairman and managing director of the factory were issued a show cause notices on the issue, and the current action has been initiated after receiving their response.

Shinde was responding to the questions on the issue raised by the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party members of the legislative assembly Suresh Salokhe, Balasaheb Dangat, Gajanan Babar and Vinayak Raut.