The cooperative sector of Kerala, which is considered the locomotive of the economic activities at the grassroot level in the State, is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis with news of corruption and financial mismanagement of considerable proportions surfacing. The reports on the inability of over 100 societies to repay the money deposited by investors have made matters worse.
What was earlier discounted as stray incidents of corruption and mismanagement turned out to be occurring on a much larger scale, even as more and more irregularities were discovered in the CPI(M)-controlled Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank in Thrissur district two years ago. The police had booked cases against the members of the director board of the bank and its staffers after the alleged financial fraud to the tune of over ₹100 crore was unearthed. The scam, which is arguably one of the biggest to be reported from the State, came to light after borrowers received legal notices for the recovery of loans for higher amounts than what they had borrowed.
The protest by a depositor, who was unable to withdraw his ₹30 lakh fixed deposit, with the dead body of his wife before the bank last week, once again brought the focus back to issues ailing the sector.
