Madhya Pradesh

• 29 Mar 2024

Cooperative Societies Under Ambit of RTI for First Time in Madhya Pradesh

Why in News?

In a recent landmark order, all cooperative societies in Madhya Pradesh, involved in grain procurement and the operation of ration shops have been bought under the ambit of Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005 with immediate effect.

Key Points

• State Information Commissioner (SIC) has also mandated the proactive disclosure of ration shop salesperson’s salaries on the district portal to ensure transparency and accountability.
• It is aimed at ensuring justice for farmers and common citizens by subjecting cooperative societies to RTI Act.

Cooperative Societies

• About:
  • Cooperatives are organizations formed at the grassroots level by people to harness the power of collective bargaining in the marketplace.
    • This can mean different kinds of arrangements, such as using a common resource or sharing capital, to derive a common gain that would otherwise be difficult for an individual producer to get.
  • In agriculture, cooperative dairies, sugar mills, spinning mills etc. are formed with the pooled resources of farmers who wish to process their produce.
• Jurisdiction:
  • Cooperatives are a state subject under the Constitution, meaning they come under the state governments’ jurisdiction, but there are many societies whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state.
  • Cooperatives of more than one state are registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act (MSCS) of 2002.
    • Their board of directors has representation from all states they operate in.
    • Administrative and financial control of these societies is with the central registrar, with the law making it clear that no state government official can wield any control over them.

State Information Commission (SIC)

• It is constituted by the State Government.
• It has one State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and not more than 10 SICs to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Appointments Committee headed by the Chief Minister.