Co-operative society amendment bill referred to joint house panel
- December 21, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Co-operative society amendment bill referred to joint house panel
Subject: Polity
Context:
- Lok Sabha referred the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill to the joint Parliament panel.
What are Multi State Cooperative Societies:
- Cooperatives are a ‘State’ subject in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution.
- However, there are many societies such as those for sugar and milk, banks, milk unions etc whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state.
- The Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 was passed to govern such cooperatives.
- Since the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act was enacted, 1,479 such societies have been registered of which Maharashtra has the highest number at 567, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 147 and New Delhi at 133.
More about Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022
- To plug the “loopholes” in the MSCS Act, the Centre introduced a Bill seeking to amend the 2002 law for more “transparency” and increase the “ease of doing business”.
- The Bill proposes merger of any cooperative society into an existing multi-state cooperative society.
- The Bill also seeks to improve the composition of the board and ensure financial discipline, besides enabling the raising of funds in MCSCs.
- The Bill provides for the creation of a central Co-operative Election Authority to supervise the electoral functions of the MSCSs.
- The Authority will have a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and up to three members appointed by the Centre.
- The Bill envisages the creation of a Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund for the revival of sick MSCSs,financed by existing profitable MSCSs which will have to deposit either Rs. 1 crore or 1% of their net profit.
- In order to make the governance of these societies more democratic, transparent and accountable, the Bill has provisions for appointing a Cooperative Information Officer and a Cooperative Ombudsman.
- To promote equity and inclusiveness, provisions relating to the representation of women and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe members on MSCS boards have been included.
- The bill also proposes to insert a new Section relating to concurrent audit for such multi-state societies with an annual turnover or deposit of more than the amount as determined by the Centre.
What is the Joint Parliamentary Committee
- A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is set up to examine a particular bill presented before the Parliament, or for the purpose of investigating cases of financial irregularities in any government activity.
- The JPC is an ad-hoc body and is set up for a given period of time and is aimed at addressing a specific issue.
- Joint Parliamentary committees are set up by a motion passed in one house of Parliament and agreed to by the other.
- The details regarding membership and subjects are also decided by Parliament.
- The mandate of a JPC depends on the motion constituting it. This need not be limited to the scrutiny of government finances
- JPC recommendations have persuasive value but the committee cannot force the government to take any action on the basis of its report.
- The government is required to report on the follow-up action taken on the basis of the recommendations of the JPC and other committees.
- The committees then submit ‘Action Taken Reports’ in Parliament on the basis of the government’s reply.
- These reports can be discussed in Parliament and the government can be questioned on the basis of the same.
- The government can disagree with the JPC’s findings and refuse to take such action.
Powers and Functions:
- A JPC is authorized to collect evidence in oral or written form or demand documents in connection with the matter.
- The proceedings and findings of the committee are confidential, except in matters of public interest.
- The government can take the decision to withhold a document if it is considered prejudicial to the safety or interest of the State.
- The Speaker has the final word in case of a dispute over calling for evidence.
- The committee can invite interested parties for inquiry and summon people to appear before it.
The committee gets disbanded following the submission of its report to Parliament .