The Hindu Business Line : AP dairy co-ops plan national fight against State Govt takeover move

BUOYED by the stay order issued by the Andhra Pradesh High Court on the implementation of a State Government Ordinance for takeover of managements of seven co-operative dairies on Wednesday, the AP Diary Co-operatives Forum (APDCF) now plans to appeal to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Nabard, and the Central Government against the State Government's move.

The AP High Court had on Tuesday stayed the implementation of State Government ordinance for the takeover of Visakha Dairy management.

The dairy co-operatives moved the High Court challenging the ordinance issued on Saturday night to take over the management of eight co-operative dairies in the State.

Speaking to newspersons on Wednesday, the APDCF Convener and Chairman of Krishna District Milk Producers Mutually Aided Co-operative Union Ltd, Mr M. Janakiramaiah, said that the Government's "undemocratic move" to take over the management of eight co-operative dairies was a body blow to the co-operative movement.

"The act of the Government is clearly discriminatory and harms the interests of milk producers. We do not see any logic in depriving the milk producers throughout the State from forming their own self-reliant co-operatives under the liberal co-operatives law - Mutually Aided Co-operative Societies Act 1995 (popularly known as Macs Act)."

While asking the State Government to withdraw the ordinance and allow the diary co-operatives to function under the liberal co-operatives Act, he said that if there was no positive response from the State Government, the milk producers have to seek judicial remedy as well as other means to prevent the "encroachment on their rights."

According to the Loksatta National Co-ordinator, Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, due to regressive nature of co-operative law in the country there was a long-standing demand from the co-operatives for enactment of a liberal law for self-reliant co-operatives.

Recognising the legitimacy of the demand, the State Legislative Assembly enacted the Macs Act in June 1995.

He said that there are two ways of organising self-reliant co-operatives under the new law.

One method is to get co-operatives registered under the new law itself.

Another method is to get the co-operatives working under the purview of the previous Act of 1964 to get converted into the new law by returning the Government share capital, if any.

There are 11 district level co-operative milk unions in the State - Visakha, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Kurnool, Nalgonda, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Godavari, and Chittoor.

The first eight unions repaid the Government share capital and got converted into mutually aided co-operatives.

The other three chose to remain under the old Act with a false hope that the State Government would protect their interests, Mr Janakiramaiah said.

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AP dairy co-ops plan national fight against State Govt takeover move