January 05, 2002

    Government is proposing to amend the National Cooperative Development Cooperation (NCDC) Act to cover the labour cooperatives in the country. Stating this the Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Ajit Singh said today that the amendment bill, already before the parliament, after its passage would enable government to provide assistance to these cooperatives. Shri Ajit Singh while inaugurating the two- day All India Conference of Labour Cooperatives here said NCDC is currently giving assistance to cooperative societies associated with the weaker sections like weavers and fishermen.

    The Minister said that the government has initiated a number of legislative and policy measures to facilitate democratic functioning of cooperative societies. He told the conference that the Multi State Cooperative Bill 2000 for replacing the extant Act of 1984 is before the parliament and a National Policy on Cooperatives is in its final stage to give boost to the cooperative movement in the country. He suggested that National Federation of Labour Cooperatives should work in tandem with the Ministry of Labour and take advantage of their programs of labour welfare and promotion of labour cooperatives. Regretting that labour cooperatives were leaning heavily on government for help, Shri Ajit Singh said the labour cooperatives should convert themselves into professional and skilled bodies and function as economic enterprises.

    On the occasion, The Minister inaugurated the newly constructed building of the Federation and also released the special issue of the journal of the Federation. The Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Hukum Deo Narayan Yadav who presided over the function said that government would provide all possible helps to these cooperatives, which consists of the poorest of the society.

    There are about 33 thousand labour and construction societies in the country with a membership of more than 20 lakhs. It is estimated that these cooperatives execute works worth over Rs.950 annually. Currently the reach of labour cooperatives is quite limited. Of the large percentage of the population below poverty line, only 20 lakh are currently covered by these cooperatives. Information provided by the Federation reveal that only 30% of the labour cooperatives are in profit and the rest either incurring losses or have become defunct.