CHENNAI: In a major development, the Aavin administration has unearthed a scam, which allegedly led to revenue loss to the tune of Rs 5.93 crore. As many as seven officials from sales, finance and engineering departments of Aavin have been charged with irregularities in spending crores of rupees for advertisements violating the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Act.
Incidentally, five top officials from the cooperative audit department, which was entrusted with the task of auditing expenses of cooperative societies like Aavin, have been accused of colluding with Aavin officials in destroying official records related the expenses of Rs 5.93 crore.
According to official sources, an internal team which probed into the expenses for the year 2018-19 found that Aavin spent Rs 10.74 crore for advertisements as against the permitted limit of Rs 5.63 crore. The probe also flagged severe irregularities in spending total Rs 3.04 crore for advertisements during that period.
Subsequently, the Aavin authorities examined the audit report from cooperative audit department into the expenses. Much to their surprise, out of Rs 10.37 crore expenditure, Aavin had received official records only for Rs 4.4 crore. Acting on this, Milk Commissioner and Managing Director of Aavin KS Kandasamy recommended the State government to hold accountable the sales and auditing department for destroying official records.
As many as five top officials from the cooperative audit department were accused of colluding with Aavin officials to destroy the records. Among the seven accused in the Aavin, four officials are currently serving in the department and three are retired. The Milk Commissioner in his report to the government has sought criminal action against the officials, and action under provisions of the Cooperative Act for recovering the funds. Besides, the Aavin has also recommended departmental action against errant officials.
Costly ads
An internal team which probed into the expenses for the year 2018-19 found that Aavin spent Rs 10.74 cr for advertisements as against the permitted limit of Rs 5.63 crore. The probe also flagged irregularities in spending total Rs 3.04 crore