Powers and Functions of the General Body

Because the general body is the supreme authority of the society, the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 reserves to it a set of important powers that the managing committee cannot exercise on its own. These reserved powers are the practical expression of member control, and a Std XII student should be able to list the main ones.

The principal powers and functions of the general body are as follows. It considers and adopts the annual report of the managing committee on the working of the society and the audited annual accounts, including the balance sheet and the profit and loss account, for the year. It decides the disposal of the net profits of the society — that is, how the surplus is to be divided between reserve funds, dividend to members, bonus, contributions to co-operative education and other funds, and any other purpose permitted by the Act and bye-laws. It elects the members of the managing committee and, where necessary, removes them in the manner allowed by law. It considers the audit report and decides on the rectification of the defects and irregularities pointed out by the auditor. It has the power to amend the bye-laws of the society (subject to registration of the amendment by the Registrar), which is a power belonging to the general body alone. It approves the annual budget or programme of the society's activities where the bye-laws so require, and sanctions expenditure of an exceptional nature beyond the committee's ordinary authority. …