Following allegations of corruption during filling up of vacancies, the Maharashtra government has stayed the employees' recruitment process of Yavatmal District Central Co-Operative Bank (YDCC Bank).

Commissioner and registrar of co-operative societies, Pune stayed the recruitment process yesterday.

According to the Yavatmal district Congress committee general secretary Ashok Bobade, whose party controls majority of the directors' post in the bank, a section of the directors under the leadership of bank chairman Manish Patil conspired to sell out the vacant posts numbering over 200.

A quota of 6-8 posts was allotted to each of the Directors who in turn started bargaining with the aspirants at the rate of Rs 10-15 lakh for each post, he alleged.

Bobade said he met state ministers Shivajirao Moghe, Manoharrao Naik, MPCC President Manikrao Thakre, MLAs Nilesh Parvekar, Wamanrao Kasawar, Vijay Khadse and Vasant Purke and apprised them of the situation arising out of it.

Bobade claimed that he and three others signed a memorandum of demands citing the ongoing corruption and red tapism in the recruitment of employees and submitted the same to the Chief Minister through a delegation of these leaders.

Chavan, after taking cognisance of the allegations levelled against the board of directors and its chairman by his party men, directed the state Commissioner and registrar to issue orders to stay the process with immediate effect.

The stay order has also directed the regional joint registrar of Amravati to expedite the ongoing disqualification procedures against the 14 directors, including the chairman of the bank.

The regional joint registrar of Amravati had recently served show cause notices under relevant sections of the Maharashtra Co-Operative Societies Act on 14 Directors as to why they should not be disqualified from the post of Directors.

The notice was issued on the direction of the NABARD on the basis of the norms set by the Reserve Bank of India as a number of Co-Operative Service Societies promoted and represented by these Directors are heavy defaulters of the loan amount.

The board of YDCC Bank consists of 29 directors and is under the joint control of Congress and NCP having 17 and 11 directors respectively.