M Hasan
New Delhi, May 9: With CBI gearing up to launch investigation into mega sugar mills sale scandal during BSP regime in 2010-11, the trouble seems to be brewing for BSP supremo Mayawati, some other BSP leaders and several senior IAS officers who had allegedly played key role in the scam. The UP government had recommended CBI investigation on April 12.
According to information several BSP ministers and bureaucrats alleged to have hobnobbed under the guidance of the then Cabinet Secretary (late) Shashank Shekhar Singh to resort to tactics to grossly undervalue the assets of these 22 mills to benefit some vested interest. It may be recalled a plan was also made to move the court by a group and relevant documents were prepared. Later during Samajwadi Party regime UP Lokayukta had conducted the probe. But there was no action. Sources said the CBI has started collecting ground materials in the case, which could spell trouble for Mayawati in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Sources said some senior IAS officers had expressed their strong reservation about the way sugar mills were being sold off , but they were overruled.
Sources said document (a copy is under possession of Urban Mirror) was prepared to move court involving the names of senior officers- the then Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh, the then chief secretary Atul Kumar Gupta, Anoop Mishra, ,Net Ram, Sanjay Agrawal, Manjit Singh, VN Garg, Ms. Vrinda Sarup, Vinay Priya Dube in the case. Sources said almost all of the sugar mills which were allegedly disposed of at a throwaway prices had vast area of land, which itself was an evidence of the enormous wealth. In the document there is graphic detail how the whole scandal was done.
According to report sugar mills were grossly undervalued with malafide intention to sell them to undeserving people close to BSP Government and the authorities had relied upon the figures referred to by the valuer which reflected discounted cash flow techniques in net saleable assets like land, building and other assets, sugar and molasses and stock etc. worth Rs.100 of crores had not been taken into consideration at all. Similarly the cost of precious and valuable land was grossly undervalued which comprised major asset of any sugar mill. While preparing the whole sale plan the value of the mills were tailored and undervalued just to suit the vested interest. Thus in the name process of “disinvestment/sale†the BSP politicians and bureaucrats had allegedly siphoned off the huge public money under the direct orders and supervision of Shashank Shekhar Singh who was working at the behest of chief minister.
The Lok Gathbandhan Party (LGP) headed by former secretary Government of India Vijay Shankar Pandey today said strong punishment should be given to all those involved in the plunder of the government wealth. The spokesman of the party said here on Wednesday that under the garb of the disinvestment policy, the then BSP Government had given a total go-by (i) to examine and assess, (ii) the viability of sugar mills for their modernization, (iii) expansion etc. The valuation of various assets and other properties and the profit generated by these sugar mills were deliberately ignored resulting into ruthlessly plunder of the public money by these people.
The spokesman recalled that after disposing of four mills on July 2, 2010, seven more were sold off on September 17 2010 and 11 mills on January 4, 2011 by adopting the same tactics of grossly under valuing the assets of sugar mills. The spokesman said M/s Wave Industries Pvt. Ltd. & M/s P.V.S. Foods Pvt. Ltd. appeared to belonging to the same Group of Industries. Amroha and Chandpur mills were sold to them. Similar was the case with M/s Girisho Company Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Namrata Maketing Pvt. Ltd. as both of these Companies were operating through the offices from the same address: A-257, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi.
The spokesman said that the sale of the sugar mills lacked genuineness and reasonableness as it failed to address a number of important issues of public interest including various assets of the sold sugar units, the agricultural areas, the concerns of the labour force engaged in these sugar mills etc. These were extremely important issues which ought to have been taken into consideration while making any decision of disinvestment as well divestment of such sugar mills. However, the way the BSP Government and its agencies proceeded in the matter showed the malafide on part of the State Government. The spokesman said the officers worked under the leadership of shashank shekhar singh who acted as the master mind to earn thousands of crores of rupees for himself and allegedly the then chief minister, who had become part and parcel of the entire scam and without whom it could not have possible to give effect to this sale of sugar mills to exorbitantly low price.
