The Maharashtra govt has set up a 47 member State Cooperatives Election Authority ( SCEA) to hold elections to thousands of cooperative bodies in the state. A retired civil servant would head the election authority. The election body has been formed according to the amended Maharashtra cooperative societies Act.
The staff appointed to assist the election commissioner will include an officer of additional registrar rank, a deputed and a contractual cooperative election officers and two assistant CEOs. A qualified legal officer with sufficient practical experiences would also be made available to the election authority. There would also be a slew of administrative officers lending a helping hand with the election body.
The govt has put in place all necessary infrastructural facilities including secretarial and security personnel to make the election authority fully operational.
All the officials and employees of the election body would be treated on a par with the state govt servants.
The establishment of the state cooperative election body, analysts say , will mark the transition towards democracy as the ordinary people will have more equal share in running and influencing the affairs of the cooperative institutions that had long been functioning without democratic norms.