OTHER DEPARTMENTS

CO-OPERATIVE INDUSTRIES

The co-operative movement, which has now become a people's movement, plays an important role in our economy which is agro-industrial in nature. The co-operative department is associated with the activities regarding rural finance, agricultural marketing, industrial co-operatives and money-lending in the district. The activities of the department are regulated under the Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1927; the Bombay Money Lenders Act, 1946 and the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960.

Organisation

The Registrar, Co-operative Societies, is the head of the department. The department has four sections which deal with cooperation, industrial co-operatives, money-lending and the marketing societies, respectively. These sections, previously working independently, are now placed under the control of the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co operative Societies, at the divisional level and the District Deputy Registrar at the district level.

The Divisional Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies is assisted by a Divisional Deputy Registrar, three Divisional Assistant Registrars and a statistical assistant. The Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Aurangabad, is in charge of the five districts of Marathwada.

Bhir district is now placed under the administrative control of the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bhir, who is a Class I Gazetted Officer of the Maharashtra Co-operative Service. The District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, is now in charge of all the four sections of the Co-operative department and has been delegated all the powers of the Registrars under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 with certain exceptions. He is now assisted by two Assistant Registrars, Co-operative Societies, who are placed in charge of two territorial subdivisions, of the district. The Assistant Registrars also enjoy all powers under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 19 and also work as Assistant Registrars of Money-lenders without their respective jurisdictions. The District Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bhir, is given the necessary administrative and financial powers for effective control over the staff and the activities of the four wings of the department.

At the District level, are one post of a Co-operative Officer three posts of assistant co-operative officers and two posts of industrial supervisors to look after the activities of the department including industrial co-operatives, marketing and money-lending The assistant co-operative officers and the industrial supervisors have territorial jurisdiction whereas the Co-operative Officer is in charge of the district.

The district is covered by the Development Blocks and there are 12 extension officers (co-operation) in the district posted in the seven tahsils, viz., Patoda (1), Ashti (1), Georai (2), Manjlegaon (2), Bhir (2), Kaij (2) and Ambejogai (2). These extension officers (Cooperation) are now under the control of the Zilla Parishad.

There are 31 supervisors posted in the seven tahsils of the district. The supervisors are under the control of supervising unions. The supervisors visit and inspect each and every co-operative society at least once in three months. They see to the submission of normal credit statements of the societies and make arrangement for crop finance. The Central Financing Agency also has its staff of inspectors, assistant inspectors and extension officers (Co-operation) and supervisors. They prepare the assets register, normal credit statement and attend to all the work involving the recovery of dues from co-operative societies.

The appointment of assistant co-operative officers is made by the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Aurangabad and of the Co-operative Officers by the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Maharashtra State, Poona. These posts are filled in partially by departmental promotion and partially by direct recruitment. The direct recruits have to undergo training in cooperation before they take up assignment.

District Supervision Committee

The supervisors are placed under the tahsil co-operative supervising unions. At the district level is the District Supervision Committee constituted of the Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bhir; Chairman, District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Bhir; Chairman, District Co-operative Board, Bhir; representatives of the tahsil co-operative supervising unions (the ratio being one representative for six unions); one representative from agricultural non-credit societies and the Co-operative Officer, Bhir, who works as an ex officio Secretary of the Committee.

The District Supervision Committee reviews the working of the supervising unions and the work of the supervisors periodically.It is an ad hoc body created by administrative order of the government and works as a link between tahsil co-operative unions and the State Board of Supervision. Its powers are recommendatory.

Supervising Unions

There is supervising union for every tahsil. Agricultural primary credit societies (including large sized multipurpose and small sized multipurpose societies, agricultural credit and grain banks) in the tahsil are affiliated to it.

The main functions of the supervising unions are to advise, guide, assist, rectify and control its constituent societies by effective and regular supervision; and to provide means of assessing the credit of its constituent societies and to make recommendations in this behalf to the financial agency.

District Co-operative Board

The District Co-operative Board is responsible for education and training in co-operation and propaganda for the spread of cooperative movement under the guidance of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Union Ltd., Bombay. The membership of the board is ordinary, consisting of all co-operative societies in the district and associate, consisting of individuals. A nominee of the central financing agency viz., the Bhir District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bhir and the Executive Officer of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Union are the ex officio members of the general body of the board.

The Board of Management consists of the following members:—

(1) one nominee of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Union,

(2) one nominee of the Central Financing Agency,

(3) seven representatives, one each of the seven tahsil co-operative SupervisingUnions,

(4) two representatives of the societies not affiliated to the Supervising Unions,

(5) two representatives of the co-operative institutions which have jurisdiction over the district,

(6) one representative of the Divisional Co-operative Board for Marathwada,

(7) one or two representatives of individual members according to the membership, and

(8) one representative of the department.

Audit

The Divisional Special Auditor makes arrangements for the audit of all co-operative societies in the district. A list of the societies as on 30th June is prepared every year and societies are allotted to the different members of the audit staff. Since the act does not require that the person authorised by the Registrar for conducting audit of co-operative societies should necessarily be an officer of the Co-operative department, chartered accoutants and retired auditors of the Co-operative department are, also, at times authorised by the Registrar to carry out audit of certain types of societies.

The special auditor is in charge of the District Central Cooperative Bank and its branches, the District Purchase and Sale Union and other marketing societies, processing societies, housing-societies indebted to government and urban banks and societies in A and B classes with a working capital of Rs. 50,000 and the District Industrial Association and federations of all types of societies. The audit section of the Co-operative department is separated from the administrative section and one Special Auditor is posted in the district, with his staff. He is directly under the control of Divisional Special Auditor, Co-operative Societies Aurangabad.

Arbitration

The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act was made applicable to the district from 26th January 1962. It provides for referring of disputes relating to constitution and working of co-operative societies to arbitrators. There are at present 22 arbitrators in the district. The panel is approved, every year, by the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Maharashtra State, Poona. However, this power is now delegated to the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Aurangabad.

Marketing

One of the five Joint Registrars at the state level appointed to assist the Registrar is also the Director of Agricultural Marketing and Rural Finance and attends to all work relating to regulated markets and marketing co-operatives.

There are six market committees in the district which are empowered to recover cess on agricultural produce brought by cultivators and purchased by licensees at the market yard. They issue licences to traders, commission agents, weighmen and other persons operating at the market yard. Co-operative officers and assistant co-operative officers are allowed to work as market superintendents at these market committees.

Money Lending

The Bombay Money-Lenders Act was made applicable to the district from February 1960. The salient features of this act pertain to licensing of money-lenders, maintenance of accounts by money-lenders in the prescribed form and restrictions on rates of interest. One of the five Joint Registrars, at the State level, is appointed as the Registrar of Money-lenders. The Divisional Joint Registrar works as the Divisional Registrar of Moneylenders for the division and the District Deputy Registrar for the district concerned. The District Deputy Registrar issues licences to money-lenders and is responsible for the administration of the Bombay Money-Lenders Act in the district. The Assistant Registrars of Co-operative Societies also work as Assistant Registrars of Money-lenders within their respective jurisdictions. The co-operative officers and assistant co-operative officers are also authorised under section 13-A of the Act, to visit the premises of money-lenders and inspect their accounts.

Staff Transferred to Zilla Parishad

The Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, came into force on 1st May, 1962. The following staff has since been transferred from the office of the Deputy Registrar to the Zilla Parishad, Bhir.

The Assistant Registrar is empowered to exercise the statutory powers of registration of the societies, approval to amendments of bye-laws, and hearing and deciding of appeals against non-admission of members in respect of societies whose working capital does not exceed Rs. 5 lakhs and whose area of jurisdiction is less than that of district. The extension officer (Co-operation) is also transferred to the Zilla Parishad. The staff transferred to the Zilla Parishad has to take up promotion and extension work in respect of all co-operative societies falling within the jurisdiction of the Zilla Parishad.

Under the Third Five-Year Plan, the following schemes have been transferred to the Zilla Parishad, Bhir: —

(1) management subsidy to industrial co-operatives,

(2) management subsidy to handicraft workers' society,

(3) loans and subsidy for industrial co-operatives for purchase
of tools and equipment,

(4) loans and subsidy to industrial co-operatives for sanction
of sheds and godowns,

(5) additional managerial subsidy to industrial co-operatives
of backward classes,

(6) interest subsides to industrial co-operatives of backward
classes on loans borrowed from the Central Financing Agency.
The financial assistance under these items is sanctioned according to the conditions laid down by Government.