SCOPE's Experience in Dairy Cooperatives: 1999-2000

In our effort to study the pricing structure of milk and milk products we also got in touch with the Jammu Milk Federation, which was set up as a Cooperative Society by the Government to help the Milk producers as well as the consumers. After a lot of deliberations in the Milk Federation we came to understand that the Milk Federation was functioning as inefficiently as any public sector undertaking and was in fact surviving only on Government grants and subsidies. When we scratched the surface a little more we realized that it is basically the way the Cooperatives have been established under the Cooperative Societies Act that was responsible for the mess. The way the Government has been interfering in the establishment and the running of the Cooperatives has led to tremendous confusion and malfunctioning of the Cooperative sector.

We also came to know about efforts being made to improve the situation by bringing about changes in the Cooperatives Act. The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Anand, the Cooperative Initiative Panel (CIP), Anand and the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) Hyderabad were spearheading these efforts at the National level. In fact their efforts had led to the enactment of parallel Cooperative Laws in some states thus freeing the Cooperatives from the stranglehold of the Government, which would hopefully make the Cooperatives more vibrant and efficient. 

We were invited to be a part of a delegation of prominent Co-operators and officials from the Cooperatives Department going to LBNSAA Mussoorie for a 5-day Seminar- cum- Workshop on Cooperative Law in J&K. After having attended the deliberations at Mussoorie we were convinced that the only way to revive Cooperatives is to release them from the control of the Government and to let them exist independently as profit making entities for the welfare of the members. In keeping with the spirit of liberalization sweeping the world, the Government should let the Cooperatives exist as independent entities without any form of intervention or interference. Keeping this in mind your Society networked with the CIP and the CDF to make efforts for the enactment of a parallel Cooperatives Act in J&K so that genuine Cooperatives promoted by the people could come up. These Cooperatives would work towards the benefit of the people with no interference from the Government.

It was decided that your Society along with the above named Organizations would educate the Minister and the Legislators about the need for a parallel Cooperative legislation and hopefully have it enacted. Thereafter we hoped some genuine Cooperatives would come up in our state, which will be for the benefit of the producers as well as the consumers.

The efforts made by us in this regard were very successful when we had the Bill introduced in the J&K Legislative Assembly as the “The Jammu & Kashmir Self Reliant Cooperatives Bill 1998” (L.A.Bill No. 16 of 1998) introduced in the J&K Legislative Assembly.

The Bill after a lot of debate and on a motion moved by Shri Ashok Kumar Sharma, MLA was referred to select Committee. The select Committee had five sittings to discuss this Bill and recommended that the Bill be passed in its original form, which was passed by the Assembly and the Council and enacted as the Jammu & Kashmir Self Reliant Cooperatives Act, 1999 (Act No. 10 of 1999). Thereafter the same Act was notified by the J&K Government and is in effect as a Cooperative Law with effect from 15 November 1999. I take this opportunity to congratulate all the members who worked hard through all the stages right from the introduction of the Bill to the time it was notified. This is no mean achievement considering the fact that there was a lot of resentment and opposition to this Bill from the old establishment that has been fattening on Government subsidies and grants. They did not want a challenge to their position and authority. We would like to place on record the cooperation extended and foresight shown by Shri Naveen K Chaudhary, IAS, the Additional Secretary Cooperatives and Shri G N Ahangar, IAS, the Registrar Cooperatives who understand the role of the Government in a liberalized economy that has to shift from “controls to regulation”.  It is indeed with a lot of pride we record that due to the efforts made by our Organization in cooperation with the Organizations and individuals named above that our state has become one of the first four states in the country to have such a futuristic Cooperative Law.

We feel that our role does not end after the enactment of the J&K Self Reliant           Cooperatives Act. Being one of the organizations that helped bring about the parallel Cooperative Legislation and an organization working at the grass roots level we feel that it is our duty to see that at least one or two genuine Cooperatives come up in the Jammu as well as the Kashmir region. This issue was taken up with the CIP and the CDF. Both the Organizations appreciated our concern and have offered to help in the setting up of model Cooperatives which other cooperatives could then emulate. On our invitation, a team from the CIP visited different rural areas of Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur Districts where we interacted with various rural groups and educated them about the new Cooperatives Act and the vast possibilities unleashed by this law. We got a positive response wherever we went and the farmers seemed very keen to set up Cooperatives under the new law. One of the areas we visited is the twin village of Nikkian-Marchangi in the Khour Block of Akhnoor Tehsil. As mentioned in the last Annual Report, an Organization named Gram Vikas Sangh (GVS) already exists there and it was on the insistence and invitation of this Organization that we took the CIP team to the area. After visiting five-six villages in Khour block and seeing the overwhelming and enthusiastic response of the residents of this area the CIP team felt that this area could be considered for the setting up of the model Cooperative. During the deliberations the villagers came to the conclusion that they wanted to start a Dairy Cooperative in their area. The CIP team agreed to invite a team of potential dairy farmers to visit Anand and learn about dairying activities. The CIP also agreed to meet the expenses for this trip to Anand. A similar invitation was also extended to farmers of other areas that the CIP team visited. As a result as many as twenty-five farmers visited Anand and learnt about dairy farming. These farmers have come back with a lot of enthusiasm and are rearing to start off dairy farming in their areas as well. In fact the GVS has held a series of interactive meetings in Khour Block where they have educated and spoken to other farmers in their area about the visit to Anand. As a result of this there is an atmosphere of enthusiasm and expectation. We also organized an interactive session on this issue in which experts from the Management, Economics and Sociology Departments of Jammu University were invited along with social activists and prominent citizens. It was felt that a Dairy Cooperative registered under the new Act would was the need of the region and would help in the economic development of the area besides meeting the needs of urban consumers. All participants offered help and cooperation to make this a venture a success.   We have taken up this matter with the NDDB authorities and are hopeful of a positive response especially because J&K happens to be one of the areas that were deprived of the benefits of Operation Flood 1 and 2 hence did not reap the benefits of the “White Revolution”. 

Before I conclude my report on the activities under taken by us as far as Cooperatives are concerned I would like to place on record our thanks to LBSNAA, the CIP and the CDF for supporting our efforts to initiate Cooperatives under the liberal Cooperative Act in J&K. I would specially like to mention the efforts made by Shri Sudarshan Srinivas and his team from the CIP. The CIP and the NDDB have not only supported us financially but have been a great resource in terms of men and materials. We have also started printing, publishing and distributing the Urdu version of “The Link”, a bi-monthly newsletter brought out by the CIP.

Noting our interest in the Cooperative Movement and Cooperative Legislation we have been invited to various National and International conferences on this subject. It was not possible for us to accept all the invitation but felt it necessary to attend a National Conference on Cooperative Laws organized jointly by the NDDB and the CDF at Hyderabad, which was also attended by top officials of the Cooperatives Department from all the states in the country as well as, by all the National Cooperative Organizations. We also attended an International SAARC conference on “Cooperatives in the SAARC Region: From Reform to Reconstruction” from 8^th-10^th March 2000. This conference was organized by Centre for Cooperatives and Rural Development, LBSNAA in association with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.