OTHER DEPARTMENTS

THE CO-OPERATION DEPARTMENT

Organisation.

THE CO-OPERATIVE DEPARTMENT IN THE SATARA DISTRICT is in the administrative charge of the District Deputy Registrar who is a Class I Gazetted Officer in the Maharashtra Co-operative Service. He is assisted by three Assistant Registrars who are Class II Gazetted Officers. The jurisdiction of the three Assistant Registrars is demarcated on territorial basis as indicated below: —

The three Assistant Registrars are responsible for all matters relating to co-operative societies including industrial co-operatives, regulated markets, money lending, and paddy blocks from their respective territorial charges. In the field, the District Deputy Registrar and the Assistant Registrars are assisted by two Co-operative Officers, four Assistant Co-operative Officers, four Industrial Supervisors and one Powerloom Jobber who are mainly responsible for organisation of co-operative societies, development of the co-operative movement, supervision over all types of co-operative societies in rural and semi-rural areas.

The co-ordination of the departmental activities at the district level is done by the District Deputy Registrar, who ensures the internal co-ordination of the field responsibilities which are performed by the Assistant Registrars, Co-operative Societies and Assistant Co-operative Officers, Industrial Supervisors etc. The office of the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Satara, consists of following staff: —

One Office Superintendent, four Head Clerks, eight Senior Clerks (including one Statistical Assistant), and ten Junior Clerks.

The Office of the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Satara, attends to day-to-day disposal of correspondence received in the name of the District Deputy Registrar under the overall control of the District Deputy Registrar and the Assistant Registrars.

Supervisory staff.

The supervisory staff serves as the last link in the administrative machinery. Their main responsibility is confined to intensive supervision over the working of all agricultural credit, Seva and multipurpose societies. They are expected to inspect every society under their charge at least once in three months. They are, in addition, required to assist the societies in the preparation of normal credit statements and assets registers and also in making arrangements for provision of crop finance. There are 26 Supervisors working in the district. They work as friends, philosophers and guides of the societies. The appointments of supervisors are made by the Divisional Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies from among those who have undergone training at the Regional Co-operative Schools and have passed the prescribed examination. They are under the control and direction of the District Supervision Committee which functions under direct control of Provincial Board of Supervision.

The Committee consists of—

1. The District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Satara.

2. The Chairman of the Central Financing Agency viz.: The Satara District Central Co-operative Bank.

3. The Chairman of the District Co-operative Board.

4. One or two representatives of the Taluka Co-operative Supervising Unions in the district.

5. One representative of the Agricultural Non-Credit Societies in the district.

The Co-operative Officer is the Secretary of the Committee. The Committee recommends disciplinary action, whenever necessary against the Supervisors, scrutinise and check their tour programmes and diaries and take periodical reviews on the working of the supervising unions and the Supervisors.

Supervising Unions.

A Supervising Union is formed for nearly every taluka by societies registered in the area. All Agricultural Credit Societies, Seva Societies and Multi-purpose societies are eligible for membership of these unions. The main functions of the Supervising Unions are (i) to advise, guide, assist, rectify and control the constituent societies by efficient and regular supervision and (2) to provide a means of assessing the credit of each of its constituent societies and to make recommendations in this behalf to the financing agency. The Supervisors of the area act as Secretaries of Unions.

The subjoined table indicates the number of Taluka Supervising Unions in this district together with a total number of Agricultural Credit, Seva and Multipurpose Societies, affiliated to them.

District Co-operative Board.

Education and training in co-operation and propaganda for the spread of the co-operative movement are carried on by the District Co-operative Board under the guidance of the Maharashtra Co-operative Union. The membership of the Board is of two classes viz. (1) ordinary, consisting of all co-operative societies in the district, and (2) associate, consisting of individuals. A nominee of the financial agency namely, the Satara District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Satara and the Executive Officer of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Union are ex-officio members of the general body of the Board. The constitution of Satara District Co-operative Board is as below:—

1. one representative from each taluka,

2. one representative from every 20 individual members,

3. one nominee of the Maharashtra Divisional Co-operative Board, Limited,

4. one nominee of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Union Limited,

5. nominee of the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Poona. (Maharashtra State).

6. the co-operative training inspector working as member secretary of the board,

7. nominee of the Central Financing Agency.

Audit.

Section 22 of the Bombay Co-operative Societies Act provides for statutory audit of every society once a year either by the Registrar or by some person authorised by him. The audit staff in the district works under the control of the Divisional Special Auditor Co-operative Societies, Poona. In this district, there are three auditors and two additional auditors (seasonally appointed for clearance work), seven sub-auditors and six additional sub-auditors (seasonally appointed for clearance work). The three auditors with their head quarters at Satara, Koregaon and Karad are entrusted with the audit of (1) multi-purpose societies, (2) taluka development boards, (3) industrial societies, (4) district co-operative board, (5) supervising unions, (6) agricultural non-credit societies like joint-farming, crop protection societies, lift irrigation societies, etc., and (7) other societies. Arrears work in respect of the audit of the above societies is attended to by the additional audit staff appointed for the purpose.

The six sub-auditors with their head quarters at Wai, Satara, Koregaon, Karad, Phaltan and Vaduj, audit all agricultural credit societies with their distribution centres or fair price shops with a turnover of less than Rs. 50,000. Every distribution centre or fair price shop is treated as a separate audit unit. The six additional sub-auditors attend to the clearance of arrears of audit work having been appointed for the purpose.

In pursuance of the policy of progressive decentralisation of the movement in recent years steps have been taken to appoint certified auditor to carry out the statutory audit of the following types of societies. (1) consumers' societies with a turnover of Rs. 50,000 and over, (2) urban banks and societies classed as ' A' or ' B ' with a working capital of Rs. 50,000 and over, (3) housing societies having no outstandings against them on account of Government loan and (4) any other society certified by the Registrar.

Registarar's Nominees.

Under provisions of the Bombay Co-operative Societies Act, co-operative societies or members thereof may refer their disputes to the District Deputy Registrar, for decision either by himself or by the appointment of an arbitrator. Every year a list of persons who may act as arbitrators is published and the District Deputy Registrar sends cases of disputes to such arbitrators. In the Satara District, 18 arbitrators have been appointed for the year 1960-61.

Educational Institutions.

The Maharashtra State Co-operative Union which is recognised as the sole agency for imparting co-operative training to officials and non-officials throughout the State has established a regional co-operative school at Poona, Jalgaon and Kolhapur to impart training to the lower staff of the Co-operative Department and co-operative institutions and in particular to supervisors, bank inspectors and secretaries of seva societies, taluka purchase and sale societies, etc. There is one co-operative training college at Poona which imparts training to the higher staff of the department. The Junior Departmental persons and Institutional candidates from the Satara district are eligible to be deputed to the schools and the intermediate and senior personnel of Department, are eligible to be deputed to co-operative training college at Poona.

Marketing.

The Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies (Marketing), Maharashtra State, Poona, is also Director of Agricultural Marketing and in this capacity he shares with the Collector of the district the responsibilities for the effective enforcement of the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act (XXII of 1939). The Director performs functions of survey, organisation and constitution of regulated markets; assessment of adequate scales of licence fees, rates of commission and charges of other market functionaries, approval of bye-laws and annual budget of market committees, technical guidance as regards the manner in which the accounts of the market committees should be maintained. The administrative control of the market committees and the enforcement of the statutory provision and the rules governing the regulation of markets are vested in the Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies (Marketing), Maharashtra State, Poona.

All the marketing work in respect of the district is now entrusted to the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Satara, who is assisted by three territorial Assistant Registrars, working under him. He works under guidance of the Divisional Joint Registrar, Poona, and the Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies (Marketing), Poona, assisted by the three Assistant Registrars, Co-operative Societies, Satara. The Agricultural Produce Markets Act (XXII of 1939) aims at regulating the selling and buying of agricultural produce and provides for the establishment of regulated markets for agricultural commodities. These markets are to be placed under the supervision of statutory market committees fully representative of growers, traders, local authorities and Government. The market committee is empowered to levy fees on the agricultural produce under regulation, bought and sold by licensees in the market area. The committee may also levy fees on traders, commission agents, measurers, surveyors and other persons operating in the market. They also issue licences to different marketing functionaries. With the previous sanction of the Director, they can prescribe rates, maximum charges for the services of the various persons operating in the market.

In the Satara District there are four regulated markets one at each of the business centres of Karad, Satara, Koregaon and Phaltan. These centres serve the major portion of the district. The agricultural produce regulated at these markets is as under: —

These market committees have got sub-market yards as shown below: —

Money-Lending.

The Bombay Money Lenders' Act (XXXI of 1946), was brought into operation from 17th November 1947. The salient features embodied in the Act are: (1) licensing of money-lenders; (2) maintenance of accounts by money-lenders in the prescribed form; and (3) restrictions on rates of interest.

The Personal Assistant to the Collector of the district used to work as the Registrar of Money-Lending and the Mamlatdars and Mahalkaris in the district were working as Assistant Registrars of Money-Lenders. As per the revised set-up, the enforcement of the Bombay Money-Lenders' Act the whole administration has been transferred completely to the Co-operative Department. The Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies (Administration) is now the Registrar-General of Money-Lenders, Maharashtra State. The Divisional Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Poona, is also the Divisional Registrar of Money-Lenders, Poona Division. The Department Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Satara, is the Registrar of Money-Lenders for the district assisted by the three territorial Assistant Registrars who work in the capacity of Assistant Registrars of Money-Lenders so far as money lending sections of the department are concerned. The District Deputy Registrar maintains the register of money lending and all the money-lenders in the district are licensed by him to carry on the business of money lending only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the licence received by them. The illicit money-lending cases are detected by the Assistant Registrars assisted by one co-operative officer and Assistant Co-operative Officers. The District Deputy Reigstrar as Registrar of Money-Lending has also powers to cancel a licence. Appeals against the Registrar's orders can be made to: the Registrar-General of Money-Lenders whose decision is final.

Sarvodaya Centres.

In the year 1949, the Government adopted a scheme known as ' Sarvodaya Scheme' the aim of which is to bring about all-round intensive development—social, educational and economic—of selected compact blocks of 30 to 45 villages in each district through the constructive programme which was foremost in the objectives of Mahatma Gandhi. The executive authority in the formulation and implementation of such a scheme in each district is a non-official worker known as a 'Sanchalak' of the Sarvodaya Centre who is assisted and advised by non-official committee of members known as the ' Sarvodaya Committee'. Every year, a plan of development of the area is formulated by the Sanchalak which is considered by the ' State Sarvodaya Committee' before it is finally sanctioned by Government.

In the Satara District, there are two Sarvodaya centres, one at Mahabaleshwar and the other at Phaltan. The Mahabaleshwar Centre was started in the year 1949 and has its headquarters at Mahabaleshwar. It includes 73 villages from Mahabaleshwar Peta and from Javli taluka. In addition to this centre there is another centre at Phaltan having 35 villages under it. These villages are imbued with a spirit of Sarvodaya ideology and have opened this centre in January 1950.

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