PRESIDENT'S ASSENT TO MULTI-STATE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES BILL

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The President has given his assent to the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Bill, 2002. With this, the Bill as passed during the Budget Session of Parliament ending May 17, 2002, has been notified in the Gazette of India as Act No. 39 of the year 2002. It shall come into force on a date to be notified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation. Different provisions of the Act are to be implemented by different notifications and on different dates to be fixed by that Ministry.

The Multi-State Co-Operative Societies Act, which supersedes the Multi-Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 rendered irrelevant to the present day needs, seeks to consolidate and amend the law relating to cooperative societies, with objects not confined to one State and serving the interests of members in more than one State, to facilitate the voluntary formation and democratic functioning of cooperatives as people’s institutions based on self-help and mutual aid. It also seeks to enable the cooperatives to promote their economic and social betterment and provide functional autonomy for related matters. Under the Act, there will be a Central Registrar overseeing and regulating multi-state cooperative societies. It has two schedules. The first schedule enunciates seven cooperative principles and the second schedule lists 21 cooperative societies of national importance. Under the Act, a quasi-judicial authority titled the Cooperative Disputes Settlement Authority will be set up to replace the existing system of such settlement by the Central Registrar. This is intended to ensure quicker and more judicious settlement of disputes.