New Delhi, March 12 The Ministry of Cooperation is working to strengthen democratic governance in cooperative institutions through a series of legislative reforms, Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar said on Thursday.
Speaking at a national seminar on transparency in the elections of multi-state cooperative societies here, the Minister of State for Cooperation said that the Cooperative Election Authority, established under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023, has conducted around 240 elections since its formation, with about 70 elections currently underway and 130 more expected in the coming financial year.
The seminar, organized by the Cooperative Election Authority under the Ministry of Cooperation, brought together chairpersons, chief executive officers, and board members of multi-state cooperative societies, returning officers, district magistrates, and senior government officials.
Gurjar said that the amended Act mandates the reservation of two seats for women and one seat each for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes on the boards of multi-state cooperative societies, an official statement said.
However, the minister noted that six seats reserved for women and 13 seats reserved for SC/ST categories remain vacant and that the ministry is taking steps to fill them.
The minister said that the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2025, has aligned the tenure of cooperative bank boards with constitutional provisions, while directors of multi-state cooperative banks will be barred from holding office for more than ten consecutive years.
He also said that a Cooperative Ombudsman, notified in March 2024, has received more than 38,000 complaints from cooperative society members, a significant number of which have been resolved.
Cooperative Election Authority Chairperson Devendra Kumar Singh said the body was entering its third year and stressed the need for clearly defined voting rights, active membership criteria, and eligibility rules to prevent electoral disputes.