The Co-operation Department and the Office of the Commissioner and Registrar

A co-operative society, once it is registered, does not simply carry on its business unwatched. Because it collects the savings of ordinary members, borrows from banks, and often receives loans, subsidies, and concessions from the State, the law places the whole co-operative movement under the supervision of the Government. In Maharashtra this supervision is carried out through a full-fledged Co-operation Department of the State Government, and the officers who run that department derive their powers from the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (read with the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961). The two most important offices in this administrative structure are the Commissioner for Co-operation and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies.

It is important to understand at the outset that in Maharashtra these two designations are, in practice, held by a single senior officer. The State Government appoints one officer as the "Commissioner for Co-operation and Registrar of Co-operative Societies" — the title "Commissioner" reflects the officer's position as the administrative head of the Co-operation Department of the State, while the title "Registrar" reflects the statutory powers conferred on that same officer by the Act to register, supervise, and regulate societies. Beneath this single head sits a large staff of subordinate registering and supervisory officers spread across the State, so that a society in any village, taluka, or district can be dealt with locally without every matter having to reach the head office at Pune.

The officer therefore wears two hats. As Commissioner, he is chiefly concerned with policy, planning, administration of the department, and the overall promotion and healthy growth of the co-operative movement in the State. As Registrar, he exercises the specific legal powers the Act gives — registering societies, ordering their audit and inspection, holding inquiries, deciding or referring disputes, and, where necessary, superseding a managing committee or ordering the winding up of a society. Studying this chapter therefore means studying both the administrative role of the Commissioner and the statutory powers, functions, and duties of the Registrar, because together they hold the co-operative sector accountable.