BHAADA GHOTALA : Navjeevan Co-op. Bank chairman ensures institution rents out its premises to itself

Suraj Mourya

IT HAPPENS ONLY IN ULHASNAGAR: If any person gives his own premises on rent to himself and even collects the rent from himself for himself, it means that person has to be a resident of Ulhasnagar. For, any UNIQUE thing happens only in Ulhasnagar. Sital K. Harchandani, the founder-chairman of the Navjeevan Co-operative Bank, adopted this unique idea to make easy money after renting out his own premises to himself.

The Ulhasnagar-based Navjeevan Co-operative Bank Ltd was started in 1985 and BJP leader Sital Harchandani is its founder-chairman. With eight branches (one branch is in Kopri, Thane), there are a large number of violations concerning banking rules and regulations, and scams have become all too common. There are many cases and complaints of cheating and forgery pending before courts and various authorities. Now, one more scam has come to the fore, and that is the RENT scam (Bhaada Ghotala). A right to information (RTI) reply revealed how Sital is fooling the public and government authorities by earning crores of rupees in the name of rent.

1-Head office on rent
Bank’s head office – Bhawani Saw Mill Compound, near Mayur hotel, Ulhasnagar – 421003, District Thane, Maharashtra – since the beginning has been on rent. Sital Harchandani is himself the owner of Bhawani Saw Mill campus spread over 12,000 sq ft. Till December 2015 Sital was taking rent of Rs 71, 21,700 per year but since January 2016 he increased it to Rs 1.29 crore. He is collecting rent more than market value. As if this were not enough, there are five commercial galas, including Utsav Lawns (Rs 1 crore from lawns only) on the campus. Extraordinarily, Sital took rent from these galas but filed taxes from bank account to UMC.

2- Siru chowk branch on rent
The bank’s Siru chowk branch is registered in the name of Sital’s wife, daughter and son. Sital took rent Rs 18, 23,400 per year.

3- Three number OT branch on rent
This branch is on land of Sai Baba Education Trust (SBET). This trust (SBET) is being run by Sital and his family members. Sital is president of the SBET but Sital took Rs 6, 82,020 rent for this land.

4- Bank godown on rent
Sital has been taking Rs 18, 00,000 rent from bank godown located behind Kajal petrol pump, Ulhasnagar-3. It’s said a person in 1995, Jawahar Watwani, opened Rich Vitamin Foods Pvt Ltd Company in this gala. Watwani has taken a loan in the name of Rich Vitamin Foods Pvt Ltd from Navjeevan Co-operative Bank. As he did not repay the loan, Navjeevan bank declared him defaulter. As said earlier, all unique things happen in Ulhasnagar, and Watwani was elected director of the Navjeevan Co-operative Bank. In 2000 Watwani said that he had been retired from the company and his brother was looking after the company. On said gala now Jawahar’s wife, Upasana, is running M/s Pashupatinath Inks Traders Company but Sital claims there is bank’s godown and pays Rs 18 lakh rent per year. Important point is that Watwani is the son-in-law of the bank’s chairman. In spite of becoming a defaulter in the first loan, Watwani was granted loan again on said company.

UMC penalized bank
This rent scam (Bhaada Ghotala) was first exposed in 2008 by Manoj Motwani, a share holder of the bank. Motwani complained against the bank in Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC). After investigation, the UMC found the bank guilty and penalized it Rs 1,21,96,512. Taking advantage of Abhay Yojna the bank paid a fine of Rs 1,19,83,233.

Bank is in profit
As per the annual report the bank earns Rs 6.5 crore per year. On September 13, 2013, in a special general body meeting the bank authorities were going for bylaw amendments and its two prestigious shareholders, Chandrakant R. Mishra (68) and Jaidev S. Kalyani (55), suggested that the bank should be on its own premises and not on rented property.
The bank expelled them. The matter is sub-judice. Despite repeated attempts Sital was not available for comments.