The Maharashtra government is yet to appoint a separate election office headed by the election commissioner (EC) to conduct polls of registered cooperative societies. It has sought time till December 2014 for the functioning of the office.
In the meantime, the government is considering whether the registrar of cooperatives will conduct elections in those cooperative housing societies with less than 100 members wherever it is due and those that were under the administrators, said Deshmukh, Joint Registrar of cooperative societies in Mumbai.
The Maharashtra govt. had promulgated an ordinance in 2013 to amend the cooperative societies Act as required by the 97th constitutional amendment.
The winter session of the state legislature in December 2013 formulated the modalities of the functioning of the office of EC and sanctioning of staff, salaries and office.
The Maharashtra govt has changed the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act , 1960. It has done so to bring its cooperative societies act in line with the 97th constitutional amendment as passed by the nation’s parliament.
Consequent on the new Act , cooperative societies in the state would cease to be a target for administrators’ unjust control and interference.
There have been scores of instances where administrators have messed up things harming the interests of cooperative societies. The new Act abrogating the role of administrators in the affairs of cooperatives has greatly relieved the cooperative circles in the state.