The  cooperative circles in Orissa are in jitters  as  the Supreme Court has stayed the Orissa high court order quashing the  state govt nominated councils  for managing the cooperative banks in the state. The latter had earlier challenged the high court order in the apex court.

It is noteworthy that Orissa govt had  constituted its own councils for managing the cooperative banks as it was not happy with the way the so-called elected councils were running them.

However, the cooperative banks had opposed the govt move and got the govt nominated councils quashed by the Orissa high court.

While staying the high court verdict, the apex court asked the cooperative organizations to present their case for the final settlement of the matter.

In the meantime following the Supreme Court order, the state govt nominated councils would   begin managing the cooperative organisations in the state and the elected councils of these organisations would stand invalidated.

There are unmistakable indications that the Orissa govt is bent on controlling the lever of power of the cooperative sector in the state. It already has shown its determination to do so by enforcing the Orissa cooperative societies act, 2011.

Once again, the Supreme Court has ordered the Noida Development Authority to provide banks including the cooperative banks located in residential areas with space so as to enable them to relocate soon.

The court has given six weeks’ time for the relocation.

However, V K Sharma CEO Noble Cooperative Bank and Prem Mishra of Citizen Coop Bank consider the time limit fixed by the court inadequate as the relocation is a complicated business involving countless formalities.

Additionally, in their view banks should be provided with furnished ready to move in places rather than just spaces for the relocation.

Their banks are not realtors and if treated as such their shifting would become well-nigh impossible, they said to Indian Cooperative.com.

They are optimistic nevertheless and hope that the Noida Authority would soon take necessary steps to implement the Supreme Court order.

Manoj Kushwaha

The Supreme court direction to banks operating in residential areas in Noida to shut down immediately has caused much dismay among the urban cooperative bankers active in the region.

When the indiancooperative.com asked  bankers’ their reaction on the supreme court’s direction, they  said  they would  obey the court’s ruling but  they  would  face  serious   difficulties of  relocation.

Prem Mishra , secretary Citizen bank  said that they would demand suitable space  from  the   Noida authority so that they could continue to render their services to the local public.

The apex court has given this ruling while examining a public interest litigation in the matter.

However, Noble cooperative bank Chief Executive  V. K. Sharma  maintained that the citizens should have easy access to the banking services and therefore the court’s ruling  might cause inconvenience to the public.

As the banks  had no choice but to submit to the apex court’s direction , they would  ask the Noida development authority to provide them with suitable space.

Urban Cooperative Banks are a community banking service and are generally bare of the scale of economics of the Corporate banks. Removing them from residential areas would not only prove costly for the banks but also defeat the very purpose of serving the community by being easily accessible to them.

In a major setback to aracanut cooperatives spread in the southern states Supreme Court refused to lift the ban on sale of tobacco products like gutka and pan masala in plastic sachets, a bench of justices G S Singhvi and K S Radhakrishnan allowed all impediment applications of various stakeholders, saying the court will hear all their concerns.

The bench also directed Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam to file the government’s reply to issues raised by the stakeholders within four weeks.

The bench also directed the government to make available to concerned parties within two weeks the copies of the report dated February 17, 2011 on use of tobacco.

The court will start its hearing from July 20 and said there would be no adjournments in the case.

Earlier the government had notified the law banning plastic packaging of non-smoking tobacco products on February 4 after the bench had rebuked it on February 2 for not implementing the law and asked it to notify the same within two days.

Endorsing the Rajasthan High Court order, the bench had on December 7 last restrained gutka, pan masala and chewing tobacco manufacturers from using plastic as packaging material for their products from March 1 this year.

Earlier, aracanut cooperative leaders led by Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedurrapa had met Prime Minister and Law Minister to seek one year of moratorium on the government order of banning plastic sachets.

Several Members of Parliament from the states of Karnataka, Kerala and other states rallied around these cooperatives against government order.Leaders were pinning hope on April 13 hearing of the matter in Supreme Court.

The campco industries is in deep trouble owing to Centre’s decision to stop plastic sachets of gutkhas. The arecanut cooperatives which produce raw material for sachets is sure to lose everything in the face of this decision.

Readers may be aware that Supreme Court had ruled that from March 1 plastic sachets would not be allowed. Following apex court decision, the Centre has issued notifications to this effect.

The Campco Ltd as a “Co-operative” is a success story which came into being in 70s.

The arecanut cooperatives of Karnataka , devasted by the decision went to meet the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr B S Yeddurappa. A patient CM offered them to help and take up the matter with the Centre so that the ban be extended for one year.

The CM told that he would discuss the issue with leaders of various political parties and farmer leaders in the state and lead a delegation to New Delhi before March 11 to discuss the issue with the ministers concerned. The delegation would also meet the PM.

The Chief Minister also offered to infuse Rs 100 crores as market intervention to save the cooperatives.

The campco Managing Director A Subrahmanya Bhat has also said that a delegation  plans to meet the PM  to help save the cooperatives from complete destruction.

This case is classic example of rift between development and environmental concerns. Without planning any alternative for the arecanut cooperatives , govt move to ban plastic sachets is at best described as cruel.

Cooperative housing societies can expel a member for owning more than one property as acquiring concessional government land cannot be a ruse to accumulate wealth, the Supreme Court has ruled.

Talking to Indiancooperative.com, Dr M L Khurana, MD National Housing Coop Fed said that he is not aware of today’s judgment but apex court has in its earlier rulings also upheld the similar point of views. Housing cooperative society gets land on discount from government only to benefit the needy. But if the member begins business out of it, it is not fair, Khurana added.

“Experience has shown that voluntary organizations like cooperative societies are the best system which can suit the needs of poor and weaker sections,” a Bench of justices Mukundakam Sharma and A R Dave said in their judgment.

The object of a cooperative society is not to earn profits but to enable the members to improve their economic conditions by helping them in their pursuits, the court said.

“Thus, the cooperative societies like the present one which seek to obtain the land at concessional rate from the government and to build houses must necessarily have a limitation in that only members who are in real need of houses should be permitted to become members and to take the benefit of land allotment,” Justice Sharma writing the judgment observed.

The apex court passed the judgment while upholding the membership termination of a doctor, Parmanand Sharma, by Ishwar Nagar Co-op Housing Building Society in south Delhi for being in possession of another housing property in violation of the society’s bye-laws.

Sharma had purchased a property bearing No. A-19/A, Kailash Colony, New Delhi in his family’s name consisting of him, wife and two minor children in 1968. In the ground floor he was running a nursing home and on the other floors he was residing with his family.

His membership of the society was terminated in 1978 on the ground that Sharma owned another residential property, in the capital in violation of rule 25(1) (c) of Delhi Cooperative Societies Rules, 1973 which prohibited a member from owning any other property.

The Delhi High Court quashed the termination upon which the society moved the apex court.

Upholding the appeal, the apex court said, “In the garb of a cooperative society, a person cannot be permitted to avoid the stress of market prices and take a concessional advantage in obtaining a plot.

Rotting food grains are finally asking questions to our high profile, “poor-friendly”Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. On Tuesday the highest court of the land slammed him for a casual approach to the problem.

Earlier, readers may remember, on August 12 the court had said that if govt cannot safely keep the grains it should be distributed among poor people for free.

Pawar made light of Court’s observation and said that the court only made a suggestion and the government will consider it.

On Tuesday, an apex court bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma told Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran: “Tell your minister not to make any such comment.”

The court said: “What we have said is an order and not a suggestion.”

The court also directed the central government to carry out a fresh survey of the people below poverty line (BPL), above poverty line (APL) and beneficiaries of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).

The court passed the order in the wake of several states disputing the figures of the central government related to beneficiaries of subsidized food schemes.

The court has also asked the government to ensure construction of big godowns in all the states besides separate godowns in different districts and divisions within the states. A job cooperative giant NCCF is aiming at.