Pune housing society administrator under scanner

The deputy registrar of Pune city 2, Ram Kulkarni, has promised to conduct an inquiry, if required, into allegations of mismanagement of a housing society's funds in Mundhwa by Surender B Kerdile, an administrator appointed by the state co-operative department.

Kerdile was appointed to look after the administration of the Mundhwa-based Ganga Terrace Co-operative Housing Society for a span of four months from March this year.

Kulkarni said the department has asked Kerdile to respond to the allegations levelled by the society against him. "If necessary we will initiate an inquiry," Kulkarni assured, adding that if found guilty, Kerdile will be asked to repay the money allegedly taken illegally from the society.

The society's managing committee members, who declined to be identified, have alleged that Kerdile failed to maintain proper accounts of the society, withdrew money against unverifiable bills and forwarded an audit report that cannot stand the scrutiny of any legal authority.

Deputy registrar Pune City 2, Milind Soble, who has since been transferred, had appointed Kerdile, who also oversaw elections in the society in June this year.

The documents in possession of DNA revealed that Kerdile has raised shoddy bills for different works and failed to fulfil his duties for which he took a salary of Rs4,000 per month.

Scrutiny of account books show that the society's accounts were not properly maintained for 2010-11 fiscal.

Apart from overwriting in the account books, vouchers, bills and receipts of expenses on record cannot be verified. Most of them are scribbles on scraps of paper.

The administrator also withdrew Rs10,000 from the society's Bank of Maharashtra account apart from numerous such withdrawals in May and June 2011. To the shock of the new managing committee that took over on July 14, Kerdile had taken Rs6,000 as advance from the society's account for maintaining accounts for 2011-12. He returned the amount to the society coffers in August, after a complaint was filed against him with the deputy registrar of the department.

An audit report furnished by Kerdile for 2010-11 and submitted to the department bears no address or phone number or any other details of the auditor and the report has overwriting and corrections made by hand and several handwritten entries.