Amendments to Co-op Act; Leadership Changes in Dairy Sector Inevitable: Bhasurangan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (TRCMPU) has scheduled a general body meeting on December 9 to effect changes to bylaws as mandated by the recent amendment to the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, and set in motion the process of electing the new board of directors.

Welcoming the amendment to the Act by the just-concluded session of the state assembly, N Bhasurangan, Convenor, Administrative Committee, TRCMPU, said the previous board could not incorporate several bylaw amendments including the one that stipulated district-level representation.

Terming the legislative initiative as a “revolutionary step”, he said the changes would help avoid development stagnation and provide new ideas and impetus to the sector.

The amendments to the Act were made on the basis of the report of the three-member committee chaired by former Dairy Development Commissioner Smt Lida Jacob set up by the government to study and recommend changes in the dairy sector.

The changes have ensured that dairy farmers and women would have roles in the administration of the cooperative unions. It has also brought in restrictions with regard to the number of terms a member of the board can hold. An individual cannot be a member of the board for more than three terms. There is also a cap of two years on presidents.

Kallada Ramesh, who had been holding the post of chairman in the TRCMPU, and Board members S Ayyappan Nair, S Gireesh, V Venugopala Kurup, K Rajasekharan, S Sadasivan Pillai, Mathew Chamathil and Karumadi Murali, would not be able to contest elections for the board of directors, he said.

The amendments ensure that only dairy farmers are elected to the administrative committee. It also mandates that one of the three women members of the committee is chosen as the president or vice president, paving the way for a greater role for women in the crucial sector.