Sugar mill under Pankaja Munde sold without informing shareholders, claims farmer leader

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 13 (PTI) An office-bearer of a farmers' organisation has alleged that Vaidyanath Cooperative Sugar Factory was sold to a private entity with the approval of its chairperson and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde, without informing the shareholders and member farmers.

Munde was not available for comments.

The mill was sold for Rs 132 crore, and the sale deed was registered in August 2025, Krantikari Shetkari Sanghatana’s Beed district president, Kuldip Karpe, told reporters in Beed on Monday.

He has demanded an inquiry through the Sugar Commissioner and registration of offences, failing which he will resort to a hunger strike during the upcoming Diwali festival.

"State cabinet minister and Vaidyanath Cooperative Sugar Factory chairperson Pankaja Munde and other members of the board, except Yashasri Munde, had given their consent for selling this factory located in Pangri village in Parli taluka of Beed district", Karpe alleged.

He claimed the sale deed was registered in Ambajogai in August this year.

"The factory was rented to Onkar Group two years ago, citing financial distress. It appears the factory was under debt, or the lessee failed to operate it effectively, which led to its sale to Onkar Sugar Private Ltd at a cost of Rs 131.98 crore", he added.

Questioning the legitimacy of the transaction, Karpe stated that the mill is located on land governed by the Ceiling Act.

"The land parcels where the mill is located are restricted from sale under the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948. That’s why the registration was done in Ambajogai", Karpe alleged.

"If the sale is prohibited, how did the sale and purchase of the sugar mill occur, and how was it registered in Ambajogai? The bank should have attached the property and initiated an auction process, only after obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the lending institution," Karpe said.

Pankaja Munde, in her capacity as chairperson of the mill, and the board of directors gave a no-objection certificate for the deal, while other members (shareholders) were unaware of the transaction, he added.

Recalling the legacy of Pankaja's late father and BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, who established the factory, Karpe raised questions about the future of around 7,500 members of the mill. "What will happen to the farmers’ shares in the factory now?” PTI AW NSK