state mandate has 44 posts in authority committee that will be formed in next two weeks.
Housing societies in the state with more than 100 members will now have to conduct their society elections under the supervision of a state-appointed co-operative election authority.
The state government has approved 44 posts for the election authority that will come into being within the next two weeks. This is applicable for other co-operatives as well including co-operative banks, credit societies, sugar mills,etc.
In Maharashtra, as many as 32,000 co-operative societies, of which 12,000 are housing societies, will go through the process of elections once the election authority is established. The state will also appoint an election commissioner to oversee the functioning of the committee. A retired IAS officer at the rank of a secretary will fill the post.
Elections for all societies which were due in the last two years will need to be conducted by December 31, as per the stipulated deadline. This deadline is one of the mandates as per the amended Co-operatives Act.
An official of the state co-operatives department said, “We have prepared the election rules and are waiting for an approval from the Minister for Co-operation. Once the state co-operative election commissioner is appointed, the process will begin.”
The mandate, under the supervision of the election commissioner, will eventually apply to all co-operative housing societies, but as of now only societies with more than 100 members must conduct elections under the supervision of the up election authority.
There are a total of 2.27 lakh co-operative societies in Maharashtra. As per the amendments in the co-operative laws, that took place in April this year, the election process of all co-operative societies will be carried for a period of five years, along with the preparation of the voters’ list. The maximum numbers of directors on the board of each co-operative society have been limited to 21.
Besides this, the amendment also mandates a yearly audit for every co-operative society. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the co-operative society will have the right to appoint an auditor to conduct their financial audit.
What the amendment says
State government will set up an election authority. State has 44 posts under this authority that will come into being within two weeks
Election commissioner will be a retired IAS officer
Societies with more than 100 members are required to conduct elections under the election authority, it will soon apply to all housing societies.
Maximum numbers of directors on the board of each co-operative society have been limited to 21.
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