Mumbai, May 12 — Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar on Monday urged the Maharashtra government to amend existing laws and draft new policies aimed at revitalising the cooperative sector in the state. Speaking at a symposium focused on the cooperative movement, Pawar expressed concern over Maharashtra losing its leadership position in the sector to Gujarat.
Addressing the gathering in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Pawar said, “The cooperative sector once flourished with the support of district cooperative banks, sugar cooperatives, and cotton ginning mills. Today, many of these institutions are either privatised or shut down.”
He noted that although the Maharashtra government holds equity in several cooperative institutions, the privatisation of most sugar mills and the closure of nearly all cotton ginning mills, barring a few, have weakened the movement. “There is a need to examine why this decline happened. If not addressed, the cooperative movement in Maharashtra will become a thing of the past,” Pawar warned.
Comparing Maharashtra’s current status with Gujarat, Pawar said, “Earlier, the cooperative sector was synonymous with Maharashtra, but now Gujarat has taken the lead with stronger cooperative institutions.”
He acknowledged the revival of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank as a positive sign but stressed that systemic issues in the sector need immediate attention. “The government should take this up through comprehensive policy changes and legal amendments,” the former Union minister and four-time Maharashtra chief minister emphasised.
Pawar’s remarks have brought renewed attention to the state’s cooperative legacy, prompting calls for a structured policy response to reclaim Maharashtra’s historical prominence in the sector.