Mumbai, Nov 6 (PTI) Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has promulgated an ordinance allowing the state government to nominate five members to the managing committees of large federal co-operative societies, with four of them having voting rights.
The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, issued on Friday, amends Section 73AAA of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, and has come into force with immediate effect, officials said.
The provision applies to federal co-operative societies, excluding District Central Co-operative Banks, which have an annual turnover of more than Rs 500 crore and receive assistance from the state government in the form of share capital, loans, guarantees, grants, land or other financial or non-financial support.
Under the amended provision, the government can nominate five members to the managing committees of such societies, comprising one government officer not below the rank of Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies and four experts with the required experience and qualifications related to the functioning of co-operative societies.
While the nominees cannot be elected as office-bearers such as chairperson or vice-chairperson, the four non-official expert members will have voting rights in committee meetings. The government officer will be a member without voting rights.
The voting rights granted to the four experts will apply notwithstanding the restrictions under Section 27(1) of the Act or the provisions of the respective society's by-laws.
According to the statement accompanying the ordinance, large federal co-operative societies play an important role in Maharashtra's economy and financial sector and receive substantial financial assistance from the state government.
"Government-nominated and expert directors earlier did not have voting rights, limiting their participation in important management decisions. Granting voting rights to qualified experts nominated by the government is necessary to ensure transparent and effective management of large co-operative societies handling substantial public funds," the statement said.
As the state legislature is not in session, Governor Varma promulgated the ordinance under Article 213(1) of the Constitution.
The ordinance comes a day after a cabinet decision to this effect triggered a political controversy, with the Opposition alleging the move was aimed at wresting control of Kolhapur 's Gokul after the ruling Mahayuti lost the recent elections.
Congress MLC Satej Patil's panel defeated the Mahayuti combine in the October 18 Gokul elections, winning 13 of the 25 seats against the ruling alliance's 12.
Set up in 1963, Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, better known as Gokul Dairy, had an annual turnover of Rs 3,966.28 crore in 2024-25.
It works with about 4.41 lakh milk producers and collects milk every day from 8,009 village-level societies across about 1,810 villages in and around Kolhapur district, making it a significant entity in the region.
