Amendments to Cooperatives Act approved

LAHORE:Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat chairing a meeting at Civil Secretariat nodded several amendments to the Cooperatives Housing Societies Act, 1925.

The secretary and senior officers of the cooperatives department deliberated reasons for the new amendments. According to the proposed amendments, it has been decided to decrease the scope of the act to the province from the federal level.

Penalty for violation of Cooperatives Act will be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs. 1 million. The minimum amount of capital share of the cooperatives housing society will be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 200,000. If two or more co-operative housing societies are required to merge, a quorum of three-fourth of the members of the relevant societies will be necessary for a vote.

Earlier, there was a requirement of 30 members to move an application for registration of a housing society but now 10 members can do it. With the termination of the membership of a defaulter member, the ownership of the plot will also cease. After the new amendment, the Registrar Cooperatives will be powered to suspend a subordinate officer or official that he didn't have in previous act. The law minister did not agree with some of the proposals and directed the department to make them more public friendly.

youth programme: The Punjab government is going to launch a youth exchange programme with other provinces in April to provide exceptionally talented youngsters from across the country with an opportunity to visit other provinces to enhance and polish their skills in their respective fields. Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said this while addressing a meeting at National Hockey Stadium on Wednesday.

The meeting discussed the projects of e-Rozgar, youth exchange programme, youth activity programme, youth awareness, arts and culture, character building, Youth Magazine, Regional Youth Forum, youth conference, establishment of youth centres, International Youth Day and International Volunteer Day. Director Admin Javed Chohan briefed the meeting about various youth affairs programmes and activities being launched across the Punjab province.

Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti informed that under the youth exchange orogramme, all the individuals with exceptional talent in sports, education, information technology, etc, from all provinces would be invited to visit Punjab.