By I C Naik
Maharashtra State Co-operative Department has the knack of keep diverting the attention of cooperators from its failures.
The latest is a grossly misunderstood and which was redundant ab-initio the “M Bond” which keeps haunting housing society office-bearers more than a year after it was scrapped on Sept 6, 2012.
“Office-bearers of co-operative housing societies who were elected on or before September 6, 2012, but have not furnished bonds taking responsibility for their acts of omission and commission which may adversely affect these institutions during their tenure, will now stand disqualified.” The state co-operation department has reportedly issued a circular to above effect.
And such dead issues are being refreshed when a huge mountain of overdue actions is getting taller and taller…
Recall nearly half a dozen posts on www.indiancooperatives.com over last few months. At the 11th hour the State came out with an Ordinance to give effect to Constitutional mandates pronounced a year ago, then reissue of the Ordinance as Legislature failed to enact a full-fledged law in time, followed by enactment of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act 2013 in August with effect from 14 2 2013, by the time several housing societies concluded their annual general meetings as per earlier law.
The most redeeming feature of the Constitution (97th Amendment) Act 2011 the setting up of SCEA (State Cooperative Election Authority) having 44 member body in readiness does not have a head to take charge of the maiden duty of holding elections in cooperative housing societies overdue for months and months. The Societies Election Rules are framed by Mid-August.
The defunct Committees (Term expiring before March 31 2013) were converted in to Caretaker Committees in defiance of the Constitutional mandate as per new Article 243ZK of the Constitution to continue till December 31 by which time promised elections will be held, though SCEA is unlikely to resume prior to May 2014 as per one print media report.
The Committees reaching to the end of the tenure after March 31 2013 are given very funny statutory instructions through a new Sub-Section 4 in Section 166 as reading under:
“(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act as amended by the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013, but subject to the provisions of sub-section (15) of section 73CB, the committees of which the elections become due after the 31st March 2013, shall continue till the elections to such societies are held under the provisions of this Act as amended by the said Ordinance or till the expiration of their term, whichever is earlier.
Any one reading this Sub-Section second time will come to grasp the fallacy. First reading will go over the head, as it happened with this writer. Sometimes some people do say Law is an Ass.
Reverting to the story: M20 Bond states that “the managing committee members would be jointly and severally responsible for decisions taken by the committee regarding the business of the society during its tenure.” It also said that the members will be responsible for “all acts and omissions” which adversely affected the interests of the society.”
And what does Section 73(1AB) itself provide about the Committee members’ responsibility ? Read on.
(1AB) The members of the committee shall be jointly and severally responsible for all the decisions taken by the committee during its term relating to the business of the society. The members of the committee shall be jointly and severally responsible for all the acts and omissions detrimental to the interest of the society.
In what way M20 Bond has made any difference over (1AB) above? If any one can tell, most welcome.
If what Co-operation department officials reportedly admit “that the decision regarding the bonds was a discouragement for people who wanted to take up the honorary work, especially in cities like Mumbai, where there are few takers for such activities” how does (1AB) not discourage the same people? Unless the maxim “Ignorance of law is no excuse” has been abandoned recently.
And does one realize that the Committee members supposedly covered by the text of this recent belated circular, (late by more than a year) had de jure ceased to be holding the membership of the Committee as per these words in Section 73(1AB) namely:
“Every such member shall execute the bond to the effect within fifteen days of his assuming the office, in the form as specified by the State Government by general or special order. The member who fails to execute such bond with in the specified period shall be deemed to have vacated his office as a member of the committee “
So is it not a proved that “Maharashtra State Co-operative Department has the knack of keep diverting the attention of cooperators from its failures?”
The Report gave interesting stats : As on March 31, 2012, Maharashtra had around 2.28 lakh co-operative societies with around 5.25 crore members, including 88,472 co-operative housing societies with 23.11 lakh members.