BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Friday gave its nod to hold cooperative elections in the state after deferring it repeatedly.
The government has to complete the poll process by January 2015 in tune with an ordinance issued last month. The elections were last held in 2007 after which political appointees have been heading the cooperative bodies.
“The state government do hereby call upon cooperative societies to elect members of the committee of the societies registered and functioning in the state in accordance with the provisions of the Odisha Cooperative Societies Act, 1962,” a cooperation department notification said, ending uncertainty over the polls.
Cooperation secretary Rajesh Verma said it is up to the State Cooperative Election Commission to conduct the polls on dates to be decided by it. There are around 10,600 cooperative societies (primary, central and apex) in Odisha. The state government formed a separate poll panel for cooperative bodies last year. Krushna Gopal Mohapatra was recently appointed the cooperative election commissioner.
In conformity with the 97th Constitution Amendment Act, 2011, the state government amended the Orissa Cooperative Societies Act, 1962, in December 2012, which came into effect from January 30, 2013.
Under the amended Act, elections were supposed to be held within six months (by July 2013). However, the government did not take steps for around a year on the plea that a case was pending in the Supreme Court. On July 30, the apex court allowed the government to conduct elections. The government in September promulgated an ordinance to defer the deadline for cooperative elections till January 2015.
In August, the Orissa high court asked the government to hold polls within six months while hearing a petition filed by a former director of Urban Co-operative Bank, Cuttack.
– TNN