Mysuru :

The State Government’s decision to auction 5 acres of land belonging to the Mysore Coffee Curing Co-operative Society (MCCCS) on KRS Road, near Gokul Theatre in Gokulam, here, has come as a shock to the coffee growers, who are members of the Society which is under liquidation.

On coming to know about the Government’s decision to auction the land from the press advertisement, the member- coffee growers have decided to launch an agitation soon to save and protect their property, sources said.

In order to discuss the issues, the Kodagu-based Ammathi Vyavasaya Parivartana Sahakara Sangha (MCPCS) President Mookonda Bose Devaiah has convened a meeting on June 19 in Ammathi at 10 am. This meeting will discuss about the land of MCCCS, revival of the defunct MCCCS, election of the President and office-bearers to pursue their objective.

When contacted by SOM, Devaiah said the meeting would pass a resolution and submit the same through Kodagu MLAs to the Government, urging handing over of the MCCCS land to its members. He alleged that some officials and influential representatives of the people have colluded to auction the MCCCS land.

MCCCS established in 1953

Devaiah pointed out that the coffee growers of Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur districts got together in 1953 to establish MCCCS by procuring 10 acres land. MCCCS had been functioning normally for many years and had also constructed several godowns, he added. However, when the sale of coffee was freed from restriction and free-market was allowed, the Society began to incur loss.

The cash-strapped MCCCS which was into coffee marketing, was soon in debts, he said, adding the Society was unable to pay even salary to its employees.

In 1998, the State Government appointed a Liquidator, who sold 3 acres of the 10 acres land belonging to MCCCS and paid the salary dues to the employees, said Devaiah. MCCCS owed money to the Government and hence, 1.13 acre land was earmarked for construction of an Academy by the Government, he added.

Devaiah said, the rental money from the godowns is being deposited in the Liquidator’s account which should belong to the members. It is unfortunate now the Government has unilaterally decided to sell the remaining 5 acres of valuable land.

Several irregularities have been observed in the Government’s decision to auction the MCCCS land, opined Devaiah, saying the Liquidator should have properly ascertained the transactions of the Society before arriving at a decision to auction the land.

Devaiah said the Liquidator has no rights to sell the land of MCCCS and if a situation arises to sell the property, the Liquidator should convene a General Body Meeting of the Society to decide or on the Court’s order. The Society does not owe any money to the Government at present as all dues have been cleared, he said.

Coffee growers have been opposing the unilateral decision of the Government to auction the MCCCS land quite for some time now. But, the Government has not convened a single General Body Meeting of the MCCCS since 1998 and there is no communication about the rental amount collected from godowns. No notice has been issued to the members of the MCCCS to seek their opinion on auctioning the land. The coffee growers have been transporting their coffee products through the rail network available from the Mysuru Railway Station and have plans to construct modern godowns to store coffee products in the MCCCS land, Devaiah told Star of Mysore.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore/ Home> General News / Thursday – June 18th, 2015