Milk unions in Surat demand disqualification of Sumul Dairy chairman Mansinh Patel for violating Gujarat cooperative act

Surat : Six presidents of Surat district Milk Mandlis have demanded that Mansinh Patel, chairman of Surat District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd (SUMUL), be removed as a board member of Sumul dairy for flagrant violations of Section 76B of the Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act, 1961.

The six presidents of milk mandlis—Naushir Pardiwala of Paneswar Milk producers cooperative society limited, Yusuf Shaik of Vareli Milk producers cooperative society limited, Raisinh Chaudhary of Beddha milk producers society, Dalpat Chaudhary of Junvani milk society, and Ramesh Gamit of Bhadbhuja milk society—have submitted a representation to the registrar of cooperative societies, Gujarat for disqualifying Sumul Dairy chairman Mansinh Patel with immediate effect.

Sumul is one of 18 milk cooperatives in Gujarat with a strong presence in the GCMMF value chain.

According to the presidents of the Milk Producers Co-operative Society, Mansinh Patel’s primary goal is to acquire direct financial advantages in the Union, not to better the Union’s economic status.

President Mansi Patel and his family created M/s Som Industries, a partnership business with his two sons Parth Patel and Kripal Patel as partners and other partners.  Apart from that, Pawan Kumar Mistry, a union contractor who is involved in several union projects, has included Bharatbhai Patel, his son Vastu Mistry, and his daughter Namrata Mistry as partners in the partnership business of M/s Som Industries.

Mansinh Patel’s venture, Som Industries, has established a production plant for polypropylene woven sacks and fabric materials made from plastic on 10,960 square metres of uncultivated land in Navsari.

When Mansingh Patel was named chairman of Sumul in 2020, he directed that all cow feed bags, milk bags, and other polypropylene bags used by Sumul Dairy be purchased from Rudra Enterprises. Som Industries provides Rudra Enterprise with the bags needed for different purposes at Sumul Dairy.

If the aforementioned transactions are taken into account, Mansinh Patel, chairman of Sumul, is directly or indirectly linked with Sumul and, by getting financial advantages from Sumul via his sons, breaches the terms of the Union’s by-laws and the Co-operative Act.

“Mansinh Patel is ineligible to continue as a member of the Union’s Board of Directors,” stated Naushir Pardiwala. “Patel is directly or indirectly involved in the contract entered into with the union and in business with the union.”

“This is a flagrant violation of Gujarat Cooperatives Act Section 76B.” We have urged that Mansinh Patel be removed from his position as chairman of Sumul Dairy.