Co-operation · Ch 1 — Organisation of a Co-operative Society
Meaning of the Organisation of a Co-operative Society
Meaning of the Organisation of a Co-operative Society
Once a co-operative society has been registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, it comes into existence as a body corporate — but a legal person cannot act by itself. It needs human beings to take decisions, run its day-to-day affairs, keep its records, and handle its money. The "organisation" of a co-operative society means the internal set-up of persons and bodies through which the society actually functions — who takes the broad policy decisions, who carries on the routine management, and who holds particular offices with particular duties. In short, it is the machinery of management inside the society.
What makes the organisation of a co-operative society distinctive is that it rests on democratic control by its own members. Unlike a company, where control follows the number of shares a person holds, a co-operative society is owned and controlled by its members on the footing that all members are equal. This shows up in the way its organisation is arranged in two clear tiers. At the top is the general body — the whole assembly of members, which is the supreme authority of the society and takes the most important decisions. Below it is the managing committee — a small group elected by the general body from among the members to carry on the actual management of the society between general meetings. The committee, in turn, works through its office-bearers — principally the chairman, the secretary, and the treasurer.
Thus the organisation of a co-operative society can be pictured as a chain of delegation that always runs back to the members: the members (general body) elect the managing committee; the committee elects or appoints the office-bearers; and both the committee and the office-bearers remain answerable, ultimately, to the general body. Every part of this structure — its composition, powers, and duties — is governed by the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, the Rules of 1961 framed under it, and the society's own registered bye-laws. Understanding this two-tier, member-controlled structure is the key to the whole chapter.
The internal management set-up of a registered co-operative society — the general body of members, the managing committee elected by them, and the office-bearers — through which the society takes decisions, carries on its activities, and remains under the democratic control of its members, as governed by the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, the Rules, and the bye-laws.
The arrangement by which a co-operative society is managed at two levels: the general body (all the members), which is the supreme policy-making authority, and the managing committee (a small elected group), which carries on the day-to-day management and works through the office-bearers.