Amid a raging row over a prime South Delhi property gifted to him by the company, IFFCO Managing Director U S Awasthi today said he will return the posh accommodation he got as an incentive for his 20 years of service as head of the fertiliser cooperative.
"If this issue has become such a big problem, then I will like to return it. I have written to the Chairman of IFFCO that I wish to surrender this property to the cooperative," Awasthi told PTI.
The issue relates to the anti-graft agency CVC looking into the issue of how a prime South Delhi property of IFFCO was transferred to its Managing Director (MD) Awasthi as special incentive by the fertiliser cooperative's board of which he is a key member.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is investigating a complaint filed by Registrar and Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of South-West Delhi on the transfer of a 1,000-square yard property in the national capital's posh locality Hauz Khas to Awasthi by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Society (IFFCO). Meanwhile, IFFCO Chairman N P Patel said it is deeply concerning that a wrong image of the organisation and its MD has been painted.
"The decision to transfer the house as a consideration for the services rendered by the MD has been taken completely out of context and blown out of proportion. No fraud or any illegal activity has taken place. It is a misunderstanding," Patel said.
The Chairman said Awasthi has written to him offering to surrender the Hauz Khas-located property.
"The matter would be discussed in the Annual General Meeting and a final decision would be taken in this regard," he added.
The IFFCO AGM is likely to be held in May 2013. Yesterday, IFFCO had said: "There is no conflict of
interest in an officer receiving compensation or ex-gratia in recognition of his contributions. It bears repetition to say that the whole controversy seems to have cropped up based on a misunderstanding that the property in question is a public property which it is not."
Awasthi is the Managing Director of IFFCO since February 1993.
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