Q. The secretary of our society is not recording my dissent in the minutes of the general meeting, in spite of the oral and written submissions. What is the procedure to record the minutes? Can I file a complaint against the secretary/ committee?
Shrihari Nair, Vashi
A. The managing committee is required to finalise the draft minutes of every general body meeting of the society within 3 months of the date of the meeting and circulate it amongst all members within 15 days of the meeting of the committee at which the draft is finalised. The members of the society can submit their observations, if any, on the draft minutes within 15 days of the date of circulation. The committee at its subsequent meeting should prepare the final minutes after taking into consideration the inputs and observations received from the members, and record them in the minutes book by the secretary.
In case the secretary does not incorporate the observations, you can firstly intimate to the secretary about the same and request to add your observations. You may escalate the matter to the managing committee through the chairman or file a complaint with the advisory committee. If nothing works, you may consider filing a formal complaint before the Cooperative Court. (Section 91 of MSC Act, Bye Law 108 and 174)
Q. Our society has 75 members and the present managing committee (MC) of 8 members (including two women) was elected two years back. We do not have reserved category members in our society. Is the Constitution in order? We came to know that two members are likely to resign shortly. Can the MC co-opt members in case the resignation comes through before the end of their term of 5 years? Can the candidates who lost the election earlier be co-opted by the MC?
H N Swami, Chembur A.
The constitution of the managing committee of your society is appropriate as societies up to 100 members need to have six general category members, two women and three reserved category members. Since your society does not have the reserved category members, the seats will remain vacant. The quorum for your society will be six. If any of the members resign from the MC, the committee can co-opt the members in the same category.
The resignation will be effective from the date of acceptance by the committee or on the expiry of one month from the date of receipt of the letter by the chairman/secretary whichever is earlier. Subsequently, the MC can notify the members about the casual vacancy and seek applications and co-opt the members. The members who have contested the elections earlier but could not win can also be co-opted as a member. The term of such co-opted members will run parallel to the term of other members. However, please ensure that at least 50% of the members of the MC are available, failing which the committee can be dissolved.
Q. We wish to appoint a manager for our society. Does the housing federation maintain a panel of trained managers? Varsha Thakur, Girgaum A.
Yes, the housing federation does have a panel of trained managers and your society may appoint one to manage the day-to-day affairs of your society. Every society may affiliate itself with a notified housing federation within its geographical area. Housing federations are notified at the district and state level by the government to be the representatives of the registered housing societies of the specified areas.
It is the obligation of the notified housing federation to conduct awareness and training to the manager and recovery officers. Every housing federation will have an education and training fund which is utilised to provide training to the managers or recovery officers. Also it is advisable to arrange awareness sessions and education programs for the members of your society/ managing committee.
The questions are answered by Sharmila Ranade, a legal expert associated with Mumbai Grahak Panchayat. Questions, in brief, may be sent to mpanchayat@gmail.com
