COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES VIOLATE RULES

A majority of Multi- State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) in the state are violating the rules and collecting money from non-members and extending loans to them.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India cautioned TS about the activities of MSCSs.

The matter also came up for discussion during a recent meeting of the state-level coordination committee for TS attended by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) and officers of the Serious Fraud Office, among others.

The objective of MSCS is to serve the interests of members in more than one state. The state has 69 MSCSs of which a majority collect money from non-members and lend them money in violation of the rules.

The registrar of cooperative societies in the state is not empowered to take action against the MSCSs, and only the CRCS can do so.

State registrars can only act if directed by the CRCS. There is no data with state officials relating to how much money has been collected from members and non-members or how much money has been given as loans.

TS has asked the Centre to delegate powers to state registrars to take action against MSCSs but the Centre has not responded yet.

At the meeting with the CRCS, TS registrar of cooperative societies M. Veerabrahmaiah said his office was not inclined to issue NoC without proper background checks regarding the money taken and the loans disbursed.

The RCS has written to the CRCS on June 12, 2017, requesting guidance on this issue.

He said out of 69 societies, six have refunded money accepted from non members and nominal members.