KASARAGOD: A reputed and well-established cooperative society controlled by the Congress allegedly swindled nearly Rs 5 crore from around 500 rubber farmers already battling a price crash. The Kasaragod District Cooperative Rubber Marketing Society Limited owes another Rs 4.35 crore to the banks.
The farmers are now left to staging meek protests and writing letters to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, minister for cooperation V N Vasavan and Congress leaders. Some farmers have filed complaints with the police. Except for perfunctory replies, the farmers said no one has come to their rescue.
Kasaragod District Cooperative Rubber Marketing Society Limited, established in 1963, is in the red for the past 14 years with a cumulative loss of Rs 15.75 crore, said its newest president Jissan George (39). "The past two administrations ruined the society. The veteran employees took voluntary retirement and are millionaires today," he alleged. "They should be investigated," he said.
Yet, Jissan George, who assumed charge in 2019-2020, has not yet filed a single complaint against the past directors or employees. "I'm working hard to revive the society. It is showing signs of revival," he said.
But farmers, whose only source of income is rubber, do not have time to wait for the green shoots to turn into money-growing trees. "I am 72 years old and have a severe asthmatic attack. I cannot go around asking for my money," said P Hareendran Nair, who manages a 30-acre family rubber estate at Plachikara in Bheemanady village of West Eleri panchayat.
The society owes him Rs 5 lakh since 2016. Since the 1970s, he has been selling rubber sheets to the Kasaragod District Cooperative Rubber Marketing Society Limited, headquartered in Chittarikkal in East Eleri panchayat.
The society had around 20 collection depots. Nair used to sell at the Vellarikkundu depot and collected the money at the end of the season in April or May. In 2016, the society asked him to convert the money owed to him into a fixed deposit for three months. "The officials told me they had a cash crunch and would return the money after three months. But till date, I have not got my money," he said. "When I approached the then managing director, he was rude with me," he said.
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Babu Sopanam (55) of Vellarikkundu said he came to know of the trouble in the society when it shut down its collection depot in Vellarikkundu in 2017. By then, the society owed him Rs 2 lakh and another Rs 3 lakh to his mother Kaliyani Amma (85). "She is worried she will lose the money," he said.
Babu said his father also did business with the society and it was doing well till 2015. "We still want to trust the society and want it to do well. But it should return our money," he said.
Saji Thomas Arakal (52) had a heart attack in January and wanted money for angioplasty. "I thought my money was safe with the society. But they shooed away my family," he said. The society owes him Rs 3 lakh. At one time, Saji Thomas had around Rs 17 lakh with the society.
Farmers said they sell rubber sheets and latex to the society and the society converts the money to deposits with an interest rate of 8.25%. "But since 2017, we have not got the interest nor the principal amount," said Konakal Papachan. The society owes him Rs 10 lakh.
After multiple requests, Pappachan filed a complaint with Vellarikundu police in January because he needed money for his daughter's wedding. After much haggling, the society gave him Rs 1 lakh. "We did not know our society had gone bust," he said.
Sticky revival plans
Congress leader Shantamma Philip said the society was run down because of the mismanagement by the previous two boards of directors for 15 years. "We have discussed the matter in the party and with party leaders," she said.
She expressed confidence in the present president Jissan George. "He is doing a commendable job of getting the society back on track," she said.
After 13 years of posting consecutive losses, the society posted a profit of Rs 25 lakh in 2020-2021. "But the auditors set aside a huge amount. So post audit, the society posted a loss of Rs 9 lakh, which is still better than the previous years," said Jissan George. "This year (2021-2022), we are expecting a profit of Rs 11 lakh," he said.
The rubber society has trimmed its staff to 10 regular employees and 30 temporary staff from 200.
Earlier, the society's Rubber Latex Factory at Bheemandy alone had 80 employees. It was one of Kerala's first cooperative society-run centrifuged latex factories. It still has an annual turnover of Rs 20 crore but has no working capital. Similarly, the society still has a robust fertilizer business with an annual turnover of Rs 5 crore.
Jissan George, who works as a clerk in an evening branch of another cooperative society, said the rubber society urgently needs cash to pay off the depositors. "When I took charge, the society owed around Rs 6.5 crore to farmers. The individual deposits ranged from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30 lakh," he said.
He said he returned the deposits under Rs 50,000. "Now we owe around Rs 5 crore to 500 farmers. Of that, there is a demand from farmers only for Rs 3 crore," he said.
Jissan George said he sent a proposal to the Department of Cooperation seeking permission to raise Rs 5 crore from UDF-controlled cooperative societies. "That proposal has been lying with the government for the past 20 months," he said.
That money would have paid off a section of farmers and given the society some working capital. Kerala Bank has also agreed to restructure the loan and extend a new credit line, said the president. "But as of now, we are buying from farmers on credit and returning their money after selling the products," he said.