The Managing Committee — Meaning, Election and Composition

While the general body holds supreme authority, it obviously cannot assemble every day to run the society. The actual, ongoing management of a co-operative society is therefore entrusted to a smaller elected body called the managing committee (also referred to in the Act as the committee, and sometimes in practice as the board of directors). Under Section 73 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, the management of every society vests in a committee, constituted in accordance with the Act, the Rules, and the bye-laws, which exercises such powers and performs such duties as are conferred or imposed on it. In other words, the committee is the executive organ of the society — it is where the day-to-day authority actually sits.

The members of the managing committee are elected by the general body from among the members of the society. Because the committee is elected by the members, it is directly answerable to them, and this is what keeps management democratic. The number of committee members, their qualifications, the constituencies or categories from which they are drawn (for example, ordinary members, and reserved representation for weaker sections and for women, as required by law), and the manner of holding elections are laid down by the Act, the Rules, and the society's bye-laws. The Act also provides for reservation of seats on the committee so that women and members from weaker sections are represented, reflecting the social purpose of the co-operative movement. …