Bharat Earth Movers Ltd flouted allotment norms

BANGALORE: The Bharat Earth Movers Ltd management had contended that there was nothing illegal in the allotment of sites by its workers’ cooperative to individuals close to top PMO official TKA Nair and other brass of the PSU because it was done under the discretionary quota.

But TOI’s investigation reveal this to be a flimsy defence.

BEML workers’ cooperative society sought to include the discretionary quota in its byelaws in 2006, but many illegal allotments were made earlier.

Besides, the society resolution, which was later rejected by the joint registrar of cooperative societies, clearly said the 3% discretionary quota in allotment of sites was only for future layouts.

The state government, however,issued a notification legalizing 5% discretionary quota in allotment of sites in housing cooperative society layouts in 2008. The matter of discretionary quota is pending in the Karnataka high court as it has been challenged by former MLA Mahima Patel through a PIL.

A lawyer who was part of the PIL work said the high court would hear the matter extensively after vacation. “The legal status of the discretionary quota is not yet clear because the case is pending. It can be deemed that anyone who has got a site under the quota has got it in contravention of the law,” he said.

TOI first broke the story that top BEML officials and those close to TKA Nair were illegally allotted sites at throwaway prices by the society.

The illegal beneficiaries included A Preethy Prabha and Uma Devi Nambiar, niece and family friend respectively , of TKA Nair, adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and BEML’s beleageured CMD, VRS Natarajan. While Natarajan got two sites in 2002, those close to Nair got sites allotted in 2008. Prabha and Nambiar returned the sites after a whistleblower took up the issue with the PMO.

BEML is in the eye of a huge defence-related scam and its supply of Tatra trucks to the Indian Army is currently under CBI investigation. The site expose lent a new twist to the Tatra controversy.

Legal experts familiar with the BEML issue and discretionary quota in cooperative societies told TOI that the discretionary quota has been under question for the past six years which in itself makes any allotment of site under such quota invalid.