Rethink on Co-op Societies Act

NEW DELHI: If reading the proposed penal clause in the new Delhi Co-operative Societies Act has your heart drumming, take it easy.
As of now the proposed punishment is a fine of upto Rs 50,000 or 7 years imprisonment or both if you fail to get your property converted from leasehold to freehold within a certain deadline.
But now, a rethink is being done on some of the salient points of the Act.A committee has been set up, with Deep Chand Sharma as the chairman and the registrar of co-operative societies Satya Gopal as member secretary.
Sources said the penal clause was being diluted from 7 years to 3 years imprisonment. Moreover, the 360-day deadline may also be diluted. "Since DDA takes its own sweet time in converting property, people may not be prosecuted if they have applied for conversion," a source said.
That''s not all. There are several other points, which sources said, were raised by the former L-G, which are being looked at by the committee.
For one, under the new Act, the powers of the registrar have been severely curtailed. For instance, he cannot supersede the society, issue suo moto inspection orders, or issue directives.
But does that mean that the new Delhi Co-operatives Act, 2003 has been made more co-operative friendly? There are conflicting takes on this issue. While a section of the officialdom believes that the role of the registrar has been refashioned to that of a "friend, philosopher and guide", others feel that this could have a boomerang effect, since the common man would be left with no door to knock.
One of the registrar''s main functions is to take appeals from an individual who has a complaint against a society. "But if the registrar''s powers are curtailed, this will close all options for a complainant," added another official.
Not only that, the rules are in the process of being reworked as well. "People can look forward to simplified forms and rules," an official said.