(1) This Act may be called the Chhattisgarh Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 (No. 17 of 1961).
(2) It extends to the whole of Chhattisgarh.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint.
Definitions. 2. In this act, unless the context otherwise, requires,-
(a) “Additional Registrar” means an Additional Registrar of Co-operative Societies appointed under section 3;
(a-i) “Apex Society” means a Society which has as its members more than one Federal or Central societies and whose principal object is to provide facilities for operations of other societies affiliated to it and whose area of operation extends to the whole State of Chhattisgarh;
(b) “Assistant Registrar” means an Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies appointed under section 3;
(b-i) “Area of operation” means the area from which the membership is drawn or as specified in the byelaws of the society;
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(c) “Bye-laws” means the bye-laws registered or deemed to have been registered under this Act and for the time being in force, and includes a registered amendment of the bye-laws;
(c-i) “Central Society” means a District Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank or any other society whose area of operation is confined to a part of the State and which has as its object the promotion of the objects of the member societies, and which has at least five societies as its members;
(c-ii) “Central Co-operative Bank” means a resource society registered or deemed to be registered under this Act, which is either licensed under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) or permitted by the Reserve Bank of India to do banking business till so licensed, and
(i) has area of operation confined to a part of the State; and
(ii) has as its principal object, the creation of funds and the obtaining of credit, goods or services for and providing credit, goods or services as loan to Co-operative Societies affiliated to it for agriculture, industrial and other allied purposes;
(c-iii) “Company” means a Company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);
(c-iv) “Co-operative Union” means a registered society which has as its principal object the undertaking of co-operative education, propaganda, training and extension of cooperative services;
(d) “Committee” means the Board of a management by whatever name called constituted under section 63;
(d-i) “Co-operative Bank” means a State Cooperative Bank, a Central Co-operative Bank and a Primary Co-operative Bank, registered or deemed to be registered under the Act;
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(e) “Co-operative Society with limited liability” means a society having the liability of its members limited by its bye-laws to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by them or to such amount as they may, respectively, undertake to contribute to the assets of the society in the event of its being wound up;
(e-i) “Chief Executive” means an individual appointed under section 71 and who subject to superintendence, control and direction of the Committee has been entrusted by the Committee with the management of the affairs of the co-operative;
(g) “Consumers’ Society” means a society formed with the object of obtaining or producing and processing and distributing goods to or performing other services for its members, as well as for other customers and dividing amount its members and customers in a proportion as may be laid down in the byelaws of such society, the profits accruing from such supply, production processing and distribution;
(g-i) “delegate” means a person elected by a group of individual members to represent them in the general body of the society in accordance with the bye-laws of the society;
(g-ii) “Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation” means the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation established under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 (No 47 of 1961);
(h) “Deputy Registrar” means a Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies appointed under section 3;
(hh) “Development Bank” means a District Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank or the Chhattisgarh State Co-operative - 4 - Agriculture and Rural Development Bank registered or deemed to be registered under this Act;
(i) “Family” means a person, his spouse, his children, dependent on him and his other relations dependent on him and jointly residing with him;
(j) “Farming Society” means a registered society formed with the object of promoting development of land, better methods of cultivation and promotion of new agricultural technology, and includes a better farming society, tenant farming society, collective farming society, joint farming society, irrigation society, contract farming society and crop promotion society.
(k) “Federal Society” means a society of which not less than fifty percent of the share capital, excluding Government share capital is held by societies;
(l) “Financing Bank” means a society, the objects of which include the creation of funds to be lent to other societies or its individual members, and which includes a Development Bank and the State Co-operative Bank;
(m) “General Society” means a society not falling under any of the heads (i) to (x) specified in sub-section (1) of section 10;
(n) “Housing Society” means a society formed with the object of providing its members with residential accommodation;
(n-i) “Industrial Society” means a society formed with the objects of promoting development of weavers, carpenters, metal workers, shoe makers or any other Society which aims at producing finished goods from raw materials of any kind;
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(o) “Joint Registrar” means a Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies appointed under section 3;
(p) “Liquidator” means a person appointed under section 70;
(q) “Marketing Society” means a society formed for the purpose of marketing agricultural or other produce and including among its objects, the supply of the requisites of such production;
(r) “Member” means a person joining in the application for the registration of a society or a person admitted to membership after registration in accordance with this Act, the rules and the bye-laws applicable to such society and includes the State Government when it subscribes to the share capital of a society;
(s) “Multi-purpose Society” means a society which includes amongst its objects any of the primary objects specified in any two or more of the clauses (g), (n), (v) and (y);
(t) “Nominal Member” means a person admitted to membership of a society under section 20;
(t-i)
(u) “Other backward classes” means category of persons belonging to backward classes as notified by the State Government;
(u-i) “Primary Society” means a society which is neither an Apex Society nor a Central Society;
(u-ii) “Primary Agriculture Credit Cooperative Society” means a society organized with the main objective of making credit available for agriculture production and includes a Primary, Service Cooperative Society and Adimjati Sewa Sahakari Samiti;
(u-iii) “Primary Co-operative Bank” means a resource society other than a village or urban resource society not registered as bank, the - 6 - objects of which include creation of funds to be lent to, and obtaining credit to be extended to members and which is licensed under Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) or permitted by the Reserve Bank of India to do banking business till so licensed;
(v) “Producers’ Society” means a society formed with the object of producing and disposing of goods as a collective property of its members and includes a society formed with the object of the collective disposal of the labour of its members;
(w) “Processing Society” means a society formed with the object of producing goods by mechanical or manual process and includes an industrial society and a society for the processing of agricultural commodities;
(x) “Registrar” means the Registrar of Cooperative Societies appointed under section 3;
(x-i) “Representative” means a member of the society to represent the society in other societies;
(x-ii) “Reserve Bank” means the Reserve Bank of India established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (No. 2 of 1934):
(y) “Resource Society” means a society formed with the object of obtaining for its members the credit, goods or services required by them and includes a service society and a primary credit society;
(y-i) “Returning Officer” means an officer appointed by the Registrar general or special order for performing the duties of a Returning Officer under this Act or the rules made there under and includes an officer subordinate to the Returning Officer nominated in writing by him to perform the duties of Returning Officer;
(y-ii) “Scheduled Area” means the area which has been declared under the Scheduled Area (State of Bihar, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh & Orissa ) - 7 - Order, 1977;
(z) “Society” means a co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under the Act;
(z-i) “Specified Office” means the office of the President or Vice-president whatever the designation may be;
(aa) “State Co-operative Bank” means the Chhattisgarh State Co-operative Bank Limited;
(bb) “Student” means a person studying in any educational, vocational or training institution;
CHAPTER II RIGISTRATION Registrar and other 3. (1) (1) The State Government shall appoint a person to - 8 - officer. be the Registrar of Co-operative Societies for the State and may appoint one or more officers of the following categories to assist him, namely:-
(a) Additional Registrar of Cooperative Societies;
(b) Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies;
(c) Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies;
(d) Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies;
(e) Such other categories of officers as may be prescribed.
(2) The officer appointed to assist the Registrar shall, within such areas as the State Government may specify, exercise such powers and perform such duties conferred and imposed on the Registrar by or under this Act, as the State Government may, by special or general order, direct:
Provided that no officer other than the Additional Registrar or the Joint Registrar shall be Directed to exercise the powers to hear appeals under section 78
(3) The officers appointed to assist the Registrar shall be subordinate to him and shall work under his general guidance, supervision and control.
Societies which may be registered.
4. Subject to the provisions of this Act, a society which has as its objects the promotion of the economic interest of its members or their general welfare in accordance with co-operative principles or a society established with the object of facilitating the operations of such a society, may be registered under this Act.
Registration of societies with limited or unlimited liability.
5. A society may be registered with limited or unlimited liability;
Provided that unless the State Government by a general or special order otherwise directs, the liability of a society of which another society is a member shall be limited.
Conditions of registration.