Minister, MLAs spar over apex co-op bank

PORVORIM: The State government on Thursday ordered a probe by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies into the Goa State Co-operative Bank’s software contract, following the Opposition’s allegation of a Rs 150 crore scam. The government has withdrawn the multi-state bank status of the apex financial body, which will now run under the State Act. 

Cooperation Minister, Mahadev Naik found himself on the back foot after the Opposition, including Congress and Independent MLAs, exposed an alleged scam in the data centre set up by the Co-operative Bank, after the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) audit pointed out lack of security to the banking transactions. 

Independent MLA Vijai Sardesai, who tabled the question along with Congress MLA, Digambar Kamat, demanded either a judicial inquiry or probe through NABARD into the alleged contract given to Info Dynamic Software System Pvt Ltd (IDSSPL). 

“Government set up the data centre after EDP Audit exposed security breach in the software maintained by Info Dynamic service provider. Despite this, without floating any tender, the bank, violating all norms, granted the data centre contract again to the same firm at an estimated cost of Rs 99 lakh,” Sardesai told the House adding, ‘however, later the expenditure incurred on the same is pegged at around Rs 1.59 crore’. 

“It is shocking that the same default company was awarded the contract for maintaining the bank software,” the MLA said, informing the House that the bank wrote to five companies inviting quotations for data centre, which was illegal. 

“Why were the letters sent without inviting bids through newspaper advertisements,” the Fatorda MLA questioned. He was supported by Kamat and Independent MLA, Rohan Khaunte. 

“Were the vendors to whom letters were issued empanelled by bank?” Kamat questioned replying that ‘no’. “Prima facie, it looks to be a scam and needs to be investigated,” he stated.

After initially defending, the minister finally agreed to conduct a departmental inquiry into the matter and ordered a probe through the Registrar of Co-operative Societies. “I am placing all information on the floor of the House as provided to me by the bank chairman and beyond this I have no knowledge,” Naik admitted. 

The minister said the government has already withdrawn powers of the bank as multi-state bank and it will now run under the State Cooperative Act.

Coming to his colleague’s rescue, Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar said, “I don’t find any scam or irregularities in it that it should be investigated by NABARD. We will now conduct a department inquiry and if required will approach NABARD in future.”