A meeting of the top leadership of Sahakar Bharati took place in Delhi last week to give finishing touches to the state-level conferences scheduled for August 20. Union Ministers- Radha Mohan Singh and J P Naddha are expected to attend them.
“Every year Sahakar Bharati holds state conferences across states. Beginning with Kerala, the cooperative conferences of six states have been held so far and the next conferences are due to be held in Chattisgarh and Delhi in August,” said Sahakar Bharati Patron Satish Marathe who was on a whirl-wind tour of Delhi last week.
The Delhi conference assumes importance because of the participation of two Cabinet Ministers. This may be seen as a straw in the wind that suggests that the co-operative agenda of Sahakar Bharati stands a chance of being promoted by the govt.
“Through these state conferences we not only look forward to enhancing our activities but also putting pressure on the state govts to review their cooperative policies which have become antiquated and irrelevant. There is an urgent need to bring them in sync with modern times”, added Marathe at the Press Club of India in Delhi which he visited last week on our request.
Another major goal of the Delhi Co-op Conference, according to Marathe is to bring to the Union Health Ministers’ attention the need to go for Public Private Partnership in Primary Health Services. Cooperatives can play an important role in running these centres using the govt infrastructure, Marathe stated.
“I have seen a poly clinic running in Kerala with the help of cooperative and I can vouch for their success”, he underlined. Primary health centres spread across the country have been a non-starter so far and with the help of cooperatives they can take off and offer services to the poor and needy, said Marathe with excitement at immense possibilities.
Interestingly, J P Nadha and Satish Marathe had known each other from the ABVP days and given their chemistry, the goal is not unachievable, say Marathe’s friends.