Has the focus of the cooperative movement in Jammu and Kashmir been revolving around building it on self reliant, economically viable and democratically vibrant basis ? Have the Cooperative Banks in the state come up to the expectations of the rural credit requirements in such a way that the agriculture sector, considered the backbone of our economy, really showing marked progress albeit the contribution from the cooperative movement of which these Banks are the glaring faces? What ails our Cooperative movement and the resultant Banking structure under its aegis ? These are some pertinent questions that need to be analysed, addressed and sorted out.
With a view to handing out the much required aura of professionalism in Cooperative Banking, an initiative in the form of constituting a Board of Administrator for a period of two years to manage the affairs of the Cooperative Banks is proposed to be taken and constitution of Professional Boards for three District Central Cooperative Banks is also proposed. These are the DCCBs of Jammu, Baramulla and Anantnag Central Cooperative Banks for management of their affairs and judicious use of the recapitalization amount of Rs.366.71 crore for achieving and maintaining a capital adequacy ratio of 9 percent. In other words, it means as to whether the health of the banks is such so as to be in a position to absorb a reasonable amount of loss and follow strictly the statutory capital requirements. It hardly needs any emphasis that Banks, especially the sensitive Cooperative Banks need to be periodically appraised and evaluated on these basic norms.
In this connection, therefore, with a view to address the relevant issues, the State Administrative Council (SAC) headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik has approved amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Societies Act 1989. The proposed Bill is aimed to replace the existing J&K Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 promulgated by Governor on June 14, 2018. The amendment was also expected to address host of associated issues like helping in implementing various revival packages of Central and State Governments for such Banks. This was necessitated due to there being no provision in the existing Cooperative Societies Act for appointment of Board of Management or Administrator to manage the affairs of any society beyond the period of six months and also about appointment of professional boards in order to manage the affairs of the District Central Cooperative Banks. This is a welcome step and aimed at infusing professionalism in its own right in the Cooperative Banks otherwise having their own specific problems quite in contrast to Commercial Banks.
There have been instances where some cooperative societies on their own enter into the shoes of the ‘banking activities’ independent of the regulatory authority which, in many cases, has resulted in hitting hard the depositor members’ hard earned money in substantial figures and therefore, the State Administrative Council has approved the Jammu and Kashmir Self Reliant Cooperative Bill 2018. This Bill seeks to regulate the activities of the members, depositors etc and provide an umbrella of required regulations. It is worth noting that there is no provision in the existing Act under which the Registrar could cancel the registration of the society which indulges in illegal activities taking undue advantage of deposits or continues business beyond the purview of the law. It sounds strange that so far no attention was paid towards this important issue.
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