Feud grounds Consumerfed

Kochi: With group rivalry within the Congress and allegations of corruption grounding its 2000-odd departmental stores and arrears to piling up, a bleak future is now facing Consumerfed, a corporative chain of departmental stores.   

Suppliers to the chain which runs Maveli, Nethi and Nanma stores across the state on Saturday said they will be forced to stop supplying materials to the store as the arrears due to them have reached an unsustainable sum.

“The total arrears is Rs 387 crores,” Consumerfed Supplies Association state president M V Ullas told reporters here. “Many of the suppliers are on the verge of committing suicide by not being able to pay even the interest on the loans they had taken to procure materials.” He said the suppliers suffer due to the cold war between minister for cooperatives Mr C N Balakrishnan and Consumerfed managing director Tomin J Thachankari.  

The government had issued an order agreeing to stand guarantee for a loan of Rs 150 crore to be taken from six district cooperative banks.  “We fail to understand why the government is not pursuing it and helping Consumerfed get the money,” Mr Ullas said. “Banks have even refused to give us application form as there is no follow-up from the Ministry of Coorepratives.”

Sources close to the minister however said the government last week issued an order authorising Consumerfed to approach the district banks. “The cooperative secretary issued the order at the instance of the minister,” they said.

Consumerfed chairman Joy Mathew said unless the government took an active role and ensured that the district banks released the money, the chain will suffer irreparable damage.

“The suppliers are justified in their demand for clearing the dues,” he said. “But the government is yet to reimburse us Rs 409 crore which we have given out as subsidies,” he said.

Insiders say Mr Balakrishnan who belongs to the ‘I’ group wants Mr Thachankari, who is a confidant of chief minister Oommen Chandy, removed from the post before asking the cooperative banks, which comes under his ministry, to release the funds.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had recently booked several officials of the cooperative for corruption.