73B. Reservation of seats on committees of certain societies for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes, De-notified, Tribes (Vimukta Jatis) Nomadic Tribes, Special Backward Classes and for members of weaker section and election thereto.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in the rules made thereunder or any bye-laws of any society, on the committee of such society or class of societies as the State Government may, by general or special order, direct, four seats shall be reserved.-
(a) one for the members belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes;
(a-1) one for the members belonging to the Other Backward Classes; (a-2) one for the members belonging to the De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes or Special Backward Classes; and;
(b) one for the members belonging to the weakers section.
(2) The four reserved seats referred to in sub-section (1), shall unless where the byelaws of the society already provide for the reserved seats, be in addition to the strength of the members of the committee of such a society or class of societies.
(3) Any individual member of the society, or any elected member of the committee of a member-society, or any member of the committee of a member-society, whether elected, co-opted or appointed under this section, belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, or Other Backward Classes or De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis) or Nomatic Tribes or Special Backward Classes, or as the case may be, weaker section, shall be eligible to contest the election to a reserved seat and every person who is entitled to vote at the election to the committee shall be entitled to Vote at the election to any such reserved seat.
(4) Where no person is elected to any of the four reserved seats, than,- (a) in the case of a society other than a society mentioned in clauses (b) and (c), the Chief Executive Officer such as the Chairman, Secretary or Manager or any other officer by whatever designation called; (b) in the case of a society notified under section 73-IC, the Registrar; and
(c) in the case of a society specified under section 73-G, the Collector; shall call a meeting of the elected members of the committee to co-opt a member or, as the case may be, members on the committee from amongst the persons entitled to contest the election under sub-section (3), and such meetings shall be presided over by the Chairman, if it is a society referred to in clause (a), or by the Collector or any other officer authorised by him, if it is a specified society, or by the Registrar or any other authorised by him, if it is a notified society. If no member is co-opted at such meeting, the Chairman or the Collector or, where the meeting is presided over by an officer authorised by the Registrar, such officer, as the case, may be, shall, within a period of seven days from the date of such meeting, report the fact to the Registrar, and thereupon the Registrar shall, within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of such report by him or where the Registrar himself has presided over such meeting, within a period of seven days from the date of such meeting, appoint on the committee a person or persons, as the case may be, from amongst the persons entitled to contest the election to the reserved seats under sub-section (3).
Explanation.--For the purposes of this section,--
(a) a general or special order, if any, issued by the State Government under section 73-B as it existed before the date of commencement of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, 1983 shall be deemed to have been issued under sub-section (1) of this section and shall continue to be in force until duly repealed or amended;
(b) the expression "Scheduled Castes" includes "Nav-Boudhas",
(b-1) the expression "Other Backward Classes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis) and Nomadic Tribes and Special backward Classes" means such classes or parts of or groups within such classes as are declared, from time to time, by the State government to be Other Backward Classes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis) and Nomadic Tribes and Special backward Classes;
(c) the expression "member belonging to weaker section" means a member or such class of members as the State Government may, by general or special order from time to time, declare.
| 