Kerala government set to amend cooperation laws soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cooperation department will strengthen the laws by making suitable amendments to address the irregularities and corruption in the cooperation sector, cooperation minister V N Vasavan said in a statement here. The decision has been taken in the wake of incidents of illegal activities in the sector, including the latest Karuvannur cooperative bank fraud.
The cooperation department has decided to register criminal cases against those involved in financial frauds, money swindling, loan frauds and frauds relating to gold pledging, after conducting a preliminary inquiry. The cooperation laws will be amended to incorporate sections, under which the properties of the accused will be frozen.

The department has decided to recommend these suggestions to the committee that has been constituted for comprehensive revamping of the cooperation laws. The committee will submit the draft amendments within two months.
The minister said that the registrar of cooperative societies has been asked to conduct quick searches in all the cooperative societies in the state and take swift action if any lapses are found. He said that in the case of Karuvannur bank, action will be taken against all the officials whom the government-appointed committee has found responsible. The insecurity and the concerns of all the investors of the bank will be allayed and a revival package will be devised by the three-member administrative committee appointed by the department which will be submitted for the government’s approval in three weeks.
The cooperative vigilance will be strengthened and the sections 65 and 66 of the Cooperation Act will be amended so that cases of criminal nature can be reported immediately to the police and the vigilance. The laws will also be amended by which the cooperation vigilance will be empowered to suo-motu conduct searches in cooperation societies.
All the societies that have a working capital of more than Rs 250 crore will be clubbed as a unit and an audit team consisting of three members will examine the accounts of such bodies. The transfers of the officials of the department will be on the basis of clear guidelines, all the officials who are working on working arrangement basis will be sent back to the districts soon.
The department has also decided to float the bids for integrated software for the primary cooperative societies at the earliest, and an official not below the rank of deputy accountant general will be appointed as the audit director in the department on deputation basis. The minister urged that the society should come forward against the efforts by a section to sabotage the cooperation sector which is the parallel financial shelter of the ordinary citizens.