By I C Naik
‘VIRTUAL means something that can be done or seen using a computer and therefore without going anywhere or talking to anyone: a very simplistic expression that can be easily related to life during and after the Corona Covid-19 pandemic. Its main features are social distancing and masked faces as the new religious normal.
When it comes to managing the Cooperative Housing Society going back to the old style (the actual) is impossible. In fact, in case of quality of MAHA-CHS management there is nothing much to speak home about. This has been officially acknowledged in the note attached to the MAHARASHTRA ORDINANCE No. IX OF 2019 promulgated on March 9, 2019 to amend the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960.This ordinance was eventually replaced by the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2019 (the MAHA-CHS Amendment Act) published in the “Maharashtra Government Gazette”, on the 23rd July 2019 which deemed to have come into force on the 9th March 2019.
Extract:
“The uniform application of the provisions of the said Act[ the MCS Act 1960], despite of the uniqueness of the co-operative housing societies, was creating problems and was inadequate to address all the affairs of the co-operative housing societies. This leads to large number of disputes and litigation and thus creates hurdles in smooth functioning of the co-operative housing societies.
Looking for a remedy to above shortcomings the MAHA-CHS Amendment Act has inserted an exclusive “CHAPTER XIII-B CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES vide new Section 154B inserted by the said amendment Act 2019.It is a widely shared experience that Cooperative Housing Societies Regulatory Regime is very complex for not just the members but even for officers of the cooperative department also. This exclusive chapter when becomes operative should add more complexities instead of removing the existing. At the outset this Chapter is not self contained law on MAHA-CHS.
This Chapter has two Sub-sections. Sub-section 1 has a provision of the MCS Act 1960 which will continue to be applicable to MAHA-CHS mutatis mutandis. Sub-section 2 has list of Sections which are not applicable to MAHA-CHS.
The most critical and disastrous outcome of regulatory regime of MAHA-CHS is it encourages indifference among members towards assuming the management responsibility. The actual management without adequate understanding of the regulatory regime can only lead to disputes and hurdles to smooth functioning of the co-operative housing societies as afore said. We can imagine the state of democratic management of MAHA-CHS when a large majority of members is nearly illiterate especially when it is poised to move over to virtual management for an indefinite time. Here is a suggestion: All members of MAHA-CHS voluntary but honestly make a self-assessment of one’s knowledge about one’s own Society in a manner being recommended in this series of posts.
Every flat purchaser is a member of the MAHA-CHS in whose geographical jurisdiction the concerned society’s operations are situate.
A question no 1: Do you know with the authentic source of information what is the area of operations of your Housing Society? For those who are desirous of finding an answer are advised to visit the office of their Housing Society with prior appointment of the Manger disclosing that you would like to inspect the registered bye-laws. Should you face any resistance or an awkward question you can draw the Manager’s attention to the provisions of section 32 of the MCS Act extracted below:
Section 32 (1) Every member of a society shall be entitled to inspect, free of cost, at the society’s office during office hours, or any time fixed for the purpose by the society, a copy of the Act, the rules and the by-laws, the last audited annual balance sheet, the profit and loss account, a list of the members of the committee a register of members, the minutes of general meeting, minutes of committee meetings and those portions of the books and records in which his transactions with the society have been recorded.
A word of caution: Do not utter even by accident that you have not seen these bye-laws earlier. An awkward position may arise if the Manager were to pull out from your Flat file a paper pointing to the following written statement signed by you in your application submitted seeking a membership of the society:
“I have gone through the proposed/registered Bye-laws of the Society and undertake to abide by the same and any modifications the Registering Authority may make in them.”
As soon as the bye-laws booklet is presented for your inspection, look for an endorsement made by the Registering Authority to the effect that it was a set of registered bye-laws of the Society named therein.
The next thing is like several other members you will probably anxious jump to the Chapter on maintenance charges. This is the area of perennial concern to every member of a Housing Society.
You will come across a chapter titled “LEVY OF CHARGES OF THE SOCIETY”. For the first time visitor to this Chapter it should be quite confusing and also surprising, almost shocking. One can’t leave this chapter with shock without gaining a clarity. Another shock comes from a bye-law declaring that
“Subject to the provisions of the Act, the rules and the Bye-laws-laws of the Society, the final authority of the society shall vest in its general body meeting, summoned in such manner as is specified in these bye-laws.
The shock is because the managing committee has an exclusive jurisdiction to fix maintenance charges payable by every member as provided in the Chapter LEVY OF CHARGES OF THE SOCIETY to be determined in a manner specified there in:
“The Committee shall apportion the Share of each member towards the charges of the society on the following basis: There is a list of specific society charges to which distinct basis of apportionment is laid down. Each of these basis must be adhered to by the Committee in fixing the rate of maintenance unless the basis are modified in accordance with the prescribed procedure to amend the bye-laws namely;
No bye-law shall be made, altered or abrogated unless (i) a proposal to do so has been communicated to all members, 14 days before the meeting of the general body of the society, at which it is proposed to be considered (ii) the resolution is passed by not less than 2/3rds majority of the members present and voting at the meeting of the general body of the society and (iii) the making, alteration or abrogation is approved and registered by the Registering Authority.
This is just an introduction to the series of know your MAHA-CHS. This series is going to be extremely important because in transit from Actual to virtual management every member will have to be very well very clear of what their Housing Society is? How is it regulated and also understanding the rationale of every significant regulation in order to have due respect to every bye-law.
The introduction may look incomplete unless every possible doubt in the mind of any member is removed by satisfactory explaining the rationale of any strictness. The scheme of financial management of Cooperative Housing Society is conceptually a very well integrated long term management strategy. It requires us to understand the very concept of Cooperative which has been found a significant place in the most prestigious “International Cooperative Alliance Statement on the Cooperative Identity adopted in Manchester, United Kingdom on 23.09.1995” The ‘cooperative’ is defined as:
“A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise.”