The milk co-operative's chairman, Ramsinh Parmar, said Rathnam's resignation was accepted at a special board meeting held on March 31
Dr K Rathnam, managing director (MD) of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL), popularly known as Amul Dairy, resigned from his post on March 31, citing personal reasons.
The milk co-operative's chairman, Ramsinh Parmar, said the board had accepted his resignation at a special board meeting held the same day.
The former MD's resignation emanates over charges of irregularities worth Rs 450 crore in allocation of tenders and recruitment at the dairy. He was accused of purchasing cheese from another state at a far higher price. This was against the rules of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) that prevent buying from other states, reports Ahmedabad Mirror.
Rathnam also did not consider buying cheese from Sabar and Banas dairies, which were willing to sell it at a lower price.
However, Parmar rebutted these charges and said Rathnam had stepped down due to family reasons.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by Amul Dairy said Jayen Mehta, senior general manager (planning and marketing), has been appointed in-charge MD.
Rathnam told reporters that he resigned as he wanted to spend some time with his family living in Tamil Nadu and the United States. "I have been thinking of resigning for some time now. I have worked for Amul for 22 years, and now I want to do something for myself in the next 10-15 years. I want to spend time with my family," he said.
Amul Dairy procures 25 lakh litres of milk per day from 6.94 lakh farmer-members and has clocked a revenue of over Rs 6,000 crore.
(With inputs from PTI)