Irregularities galore in Kerafed: Report

Irregularities in KERAFED pertaining to the construction of a new building, copra procurement and taking on leasing private oil mills have found place in the report of the financial inspection wing.

This has led to a huge loss to the company, the report says. The report, a copy of which is with Express, said that the finance director had behaved according to his whims. In the case of signing cheques, the finance director had not been following the rules, the report said.

 Though the cheques have to be signed jointly by the finance director and the administrative officer, it was the finance director and the finance manager who signed them. Kerafed MD K Pratapan said that though he had raised objections, they were all overruled by the board.

“Even though the finance director was suspended, he has been reinstated without having a discussion on the issues raised by the Finance Department,” he said and added that the report would be discussed in the next board meeting scheduled for this month. The Kerafed’s move to buy copra from neighbouring Tamil Nadu had also led to loss of income to hundreds of farmers in the state.

KERAFED had not sought prior permission for the purchase of copra worth Rs 4.94 lakh from Tamil Nadu in 2008, the financial inspection wing has found.

It was also found that the transaction of Rs 2.09 lakh had no vouchers. Irregularities have also been found in the construction of the KERAFED head office.

The report points out that the building was constructed without getting the sanction of the government or the cooperative registrar. In the first phase, an amount of Rs 94.32 lakh and in the second phase Rs 54 lakh were spent.

In the pre-qualification tender, the finance wing found that the documents such as bank solvency certificate, work experience certificate, documents regarding technical staff, plant and machinery were not submitted. It also said that no details of the participants in the tender process were given, except their names. 

Moreover, the finance director had opened the tenders and tabulated even as the project evaluation committee was to process the tender.