Mumbai: Dy registrar orders financial re-audit of Juhu's Kapole CHS

Allegations of corruption and financial misappropriation continue in Mumbairsquos most coveted housing society which is home to several Bollywood Alisters Almost 10 months after the managing committee of Kapole Cooperative Housing Society CHS was dissolved following corruption charges the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Housing Society K West Ward issued directives to conduct a financial reaudit of the society The move comes after a few members alleged financial misappropriation and missing documentsResidents have now alleged that despite knowing that the property and financial papers are missing neither the administrator nor the deputy registrar of cooperative housing societies registered an FIRTalking to midday wellknown author and resident of the society Siddharth Sanghvi said ldquoIn 2022 the Kapole society managing committee was dissolved after office bearers were accused of financial fraud and forgery I wrote to Deputy Registrar Nitin Dahibhate seeking a financial audit He did not carry out an audit in time and far more shockingly financial records and minutes books were stolen from the Kapole society office while under the administration of the deputy registrar and still there has been no FIR to daterdquoAlso Read lsquoJuhu coprsquo visits witness with false Marathi statement asks her to sign itIn July 2022 allegations of irregularities forgery and corruption by residents forced the managing committee of the highprofile cooperative housing society to resign Last year midday published a number of stories on the issue that went into great detailIn May 2022 midday had first reported about residents of the society levelling a series of allegations including forgery corruption and irregularities in the functioning of the committee Two residents had also moved the Bombay High Court challenging the very process of electing the societyrsquos managing committeeMC members resignFollowing the developments seven of the eight members of the managing committee handed in their resignations On July 7 Nitin Dahibhate deputy registrar of cooperative housing socieities K West ordered the formation of a new board of administrators The order states that under Section 77 A B1 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies MCS Act 1960 a board of administrators comprising one or more members can be formed when the managing committee of the society is dissolvedNow even after 10 months since the managing committee was dissolved no action has been taken on the allegationsIn April this year 10 residents and members of the housing society wrote to the deputy registrar of cooperative housing societies urging him to conduct a reaudit of the financial balance sheets of the society for the financial years 201920 20202021 and 202122 They have cited two reasons for the same 1 discrepancies in the audited balance sheets of December 2022 and 2 money spent without authorisation by members in the Annual General Body Meeting and Special General Body MeetingJayant Sanghvi one of the complainants and a resident said ldquoI have moved the joint registrar and Bombay High Court against the bungling and irregularities by the managing committee The former managing committee during its term in September 2022 presented balance sheets wherein they stated that around R2250 lakh are to be recovered from me towards the cost of lawyers they hired for the case I had filed against the society I am the aggrieved party I am a complainant in the case I approached the court for justice but the society will recover that amount from me The amount they have mentioned is five times more than what I have spent on legal services so far in the case They have made this a jokerdquoHe added ldquoAs per the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 monetary transactions above R50000 need approval from the SGM This approval is to be given before spending the sum not after There are many irregularities like the distribution of funds without the approval of society members plots being merged and still they collect money twice The administrator is yet to lodge an FIR for the missing important property and financial documentsrdquoOfficials speakDahibhate deputy registrar of cooperative housing societies K West said ldquoWe have issued directions for conducting a reaudit of the audited financial balance sheet as a few society members have requested for the same I have written to the district registrar of housing societies to appoint an auditor for the same As per Section 816 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 for reauditing the balance sheet of the society for the financial years 201920 to 202122 The reaudit will be conducted as soon as an order appointing an auditor is passedrdquoAdvocate Sunita Godbole a certified auditor is the chairman of the Administrative Board of Kapole CHS ldquoWe still do not know whether the register is missing or was stolen The search for it is on An FIR should be registered but we cannot do so in haste When I was given charge as the administrator of the society in July 2022 the office was under renovation We were given a temporary place as the office In December we realised that the SGM register was missing We had earlier given photocopies of the minutes to one of the members Siddharth Sanghvi from whom we could retrieve them Hence we have a majority of the documents from the registerrdquo Godbole said