Significance of the Office and a Note on Election of Committees

Bringing the two roles together, it is easy to see why the office of the Commissioner for Co-operation and Registrar of Co-operative Societies is described as the pivot of the entire co-operative movement in Maharashtra. As Registrar, the officer controls the whole life-cycle of a society — its birth by registration, its healthy working through audit, inspection, and inquiry, its correction through surcharge and supersession, the settlement of its disputes, and, where unavoidable, its winding up and dissolution. As Commissioner, the same officer directs the department, controls all subordinate registrars, advises the Government, and promotes the growth of the movement. The combination gives the co-operative sector both firm day-to-day regulation and long-term policy leadership from a single accountable authority.

For the members of an ordinary society, the practical value of this office is that it makes their society trustworthy. Because a public authority audits the accounts every year, can inquire into complaints, can hold delinquent officers personally liable for losses, and can even remove a failed committee, members can pool their savings in a co-operative with far greater confidence than they could in an unregulated association. The Registrar is, in effect, the members' guardian, and the Commissioner is the movement's guide. …