JAMMU AND KASHMIR

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JAMMU AND KASHMIR

The Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 came into being for the development of cooperatives in the state. The Cooperative Movement in Jammu and Kashmir was first institutionalized in 1913. The legal framework was further updated in 1936, 1960, 1989 and 1999. Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904 was enacted to add, to some extent, the challenges of rural credit in Jammu & Kashmir. In tune with the National Policy, the State Govt. has introduced reforms both legal and structural in the Cooperative Movement from time to time. ‘To encourage the Cooperative Movement’ is a promise under the Constitution of the State. As per NCD, there are 8,604 cooperative societies present in the UT. Out of these, 6,983 societies are functional while 1,621 are non-functional and under liquidation societies. The number of members associated with these societies are 8,92,841. Out of 20 districts, Srinagar has maximum contribution of cooperatives with 1,656 societies having 64,174 members while Bandipora district has maximum membership (2,49,668). Handicraft cooperative is the prominent sector in the UT. A total of 3,898 societies are registered under handicraft cooperatives in which around one-third (1,249) societies are in Srinagar district. There are 1,063 Dairy Cooperatives, 599 PACS and 19 Fishery Cooperatives. Out of 4,288 Gram Panchayats, 2,789 (63.25%) Gram Panchayats are fully covered with PACS. 30.88% PACS are successfully affiliated with federation/union. NCD is useful to general public as it may give desired information to them about financial and other position of the societies and if at all they want to deal with the society, they can do so after verifying financial viability of the society. The NCD portal is a one-stop solution for the district level officers and Head of Department regulating cooperative sector in the UT.