Agents of Ponlait holding a demonstration inside a sub-office of the society to highlight milk shortage in Puducherry on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: S.S.KUMAR
Members attached to the primary milk societies complain that they are denied any role in the functioning of Co-operative Milk Producers Union, popularly known as Ponlait, as elections are not conducted to constitute a general body. They attribute the present plight of the society to the absence of a democratically elected general body and an Advisory Council.
As per section 31 of the Puducherry Co-operative Societies Act, 1972, the ultimate authority of a registered society should vest with the general body comprising its members.
“Involvement of stakeholders is one of the key aspects of the successful functioning of societies. For more than a decade now, the government has not conducted election to constitute the general body. The mismanagement of the society started after government started keeping away the stakeholders in the day-to-day functioning of Ponlait,” said a dairy farmer.
The rules prescribe convening general meeting of the elected body once in a year to approve the budget, for consideration of the audit and annual reports, disposal of net profits, reviewing the loans given to the members of the committee and their relatives. The general body was also empowered to take action on recovery of loans, he said.
According to a retired staff of Registrar of Cooperative Societies, the mismanagement of the society was also the result of absence of an advisory council, which has powers to oversee the functioning of all registered societies.
Section 166 of the Act, allowed setting up of Pondicherry Cooperative Advisory Council comprising Minister in-charge of the department dealing with cooperative societies, president of apex societies, legislators, Secretary, Co-operatives, Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Directors of Agriculture and Industries Department.
“In the absence of an elected body and regulatory council, the government has left the day to day administration to a handful of officers in Ponlait. The end result is that the once profit-making entity has now been pushed into a debt-trap. The society used to return the share capital to the government. Now the liabilities of the society runs to around ₹15 crore with the entity not even able to procure milk for supplying to consumers,” he added.
Ponlait now struggles to maintain regular supply of milk to consumers due to financial constraints mainly because of mismanagement. At least now, the government should conduct elections and constitute the council to streamline the functioning of the society, said another dairy farmer.
Shortage continues
The society continued to face shortage in supply of Milk. On Thursday, agents of Ponlait under the banner of All India Trade Union Congress staged a demonstration to highlight shortage in supply of milk packets. “There are around 200 agents. In the last three months, we have been getting very less supply. The agents together are getting 10,000 litres less every day. We are not able to supply even to our regular customers,” an official said.