Bill to reform cooperative sector introduced in LS

 A constitutional amendment Bill aimed at reforming the cooperative sector was today introduced in the Lok Sabha by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.The Constitution (111th Amendment) Bill, 2009 seeks to empower Parliament in respect of multi-state cooperative societies, and the State legislatures for other cooperative societies.The objective of the amendment is to keep cooperatives free of outside interference and to ensure their autonomy.Providing for a 21-member elective board of such cooperative societies, the Bill seeks to reserve one seat for Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and two for women on each board.The board will also have two nominated members who will not have voting right.The Bill says no board can be superseded or suspended for more than six months. But a board which has no Government shareholding, or financial assistance or any guarantee can neither be superceded or suspended.The board and its office bearers will have a fixed term of five years and a new board will have to be elected before the expiry of the tenure of previous board.The Bill also provides for audit of accounts of cooperative societies by a firm appointed by general body of a society. The audit will be selected from a panel approved by a state Government.