Indian Cooperators are anxious about a New Union Cooperation Minister, a portfolio retained in this august office of the Prime Minster of India. In view of the dire need to implement Constitutional Mandates under the Constitution ( 97th Amendment ) Act 2011 this position is overdue indeed.
The Justification of this appeal is fortified by certain steps taken in the State of Maharashtra the pioneering State a home ground of no less than the pilot of the Constitution ( 97th Amendment ) Bill 2009 Sharad Rao Pawar.
Remedial measures to the following violation of Constitutional Mandates by Legislature of Maharashtra and the State Administration are long overdue. The State Administration is overtly resisting implementation with a view to take political advantage of the ruling party hold on cooperatives in ensuing elections even throwing of Constitutional Mandate also.
1. Thousands of cooperative society boards have overstretched their tenure and Legislature has extended their tenure indefinitely by making provision in the M C S Act 1960. [Article 243ZJ(2) violated]
2. Contrary to the Constitutional Mandate of encouraging democratic member-control and autonomous functioning the Registrar of Societies has been given arbitrary sole power to specify mandatory Bye Laws for any cooperative society (Proviso to Section 14). (Article 243ZI violated)
3. Circumventing the Constitutional embargo on deputing a bureaucrat to manage financially self sufficient co-operative societies by abuse of the Constitutional term “authorized person”( Section 77A of the M C S Act 1960) [Article 243ZL violated]
4. Contravention of the mandates to set up a State Cooperative Election Authority, to hold timely elections of the Committee / Boards, Office Bearers, provisional committees, fill casual vacancies, [Article 243ZK violated]
5. Higher number of reserved Seats and the State to identify the societies to make reservations Contravention of [Article 243ZJ(1) violated ]
6. Re-Politicisation of cooperatives – Lifting embargo on the State / Central Ministers to occupy top management positions
7. Committee can up casual vacancy if unexpired tenure is less than half. But State law has withdrawn this liberty of the boards
8. Elections of the Provisional Committee outside SCEA’s power.
9. Member’s failure to attend minimum meetings is condonable by General Body Meeting