Skip General Body, lose Housing society rights

Habitual absentees to be tagged ‘inactive’, may lose right to vote

Housing society members, who are habitually absent from society meetings, maybe in for some bad news even as the government prepares to curb the fundamental rights of these flat owners.

In a recent order by the state commissioner for cooperation and registrar of cooperative societies issued to all the divisional and district deputy registrar of cooperative housing societies asking for such habitually absent members as ‘inactive’. The order says that any member, who continues to skip the general body meetings for five consecutive years, will also lose the right to cast his vote during society elections as well as the right to contest the election.

The order is an outcome of a recent amendment in section 26 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960.

Cooperation commissioner Vijay Zade, in his order, says, “It is mandatory to attend at least one general body meeting as per the section (2) of the Act. During these five years the members must have communication at least once in any form with the society. Absence of both the conditions will compel the society’s management committee to declare such member as ‘inactive’.”

Zade’s order also states, “Following the declaration of a member as ‘inactive’, if he or she remains absent for another five years, it will invite the termination of his/her membership. A period of 60 days will be granted to submit the appeal.”

“The name of such members will be dropped from the voters’ list and he/she will also be disqualified from contesting the election of the management committee. The management committee will have to maintain separate records of such inactive members. The list also needs to be sent to the department of cooperation,” the order adds.

State cooperative election authority (SCEA) commissioner Madhukar Chaudhari confirmed the development and said, “Through the order by the commissioner of cooperation, the rule will be implemented across the state. This will help reduce the practice of avoiding meetings. This order will help increase active participation of the members to maintain democracy in the housings societies.”

Chaudhari, however, clarified that a member can have exemptions from attending the meeting by taking prior permission from the management committee.

Talking to Pune Mirror, advocate Sachin Hinganekar, joint executive president of Pune Divisional Federation of Co-operative Housing Societies, said, “This is indeed a great decision. This will certainly help to avoid monopoly in the housing societies, participation in greater numbers will help to take collective decisions. Just buying a property will not serve the cause.”