Have to get committee nod before destroying records
It is imperative that cooperative housing societies maintain their books of records as per the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960; Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Rules 1961 and the bye-laws of the society.
In the past, the accounting year for societies ended on 30th June or the day fixed by a particular society with the approval of the Registrar. However, with an amendment made in 1993, the cooperative year was changed to end on the 31st March or as the Registrar thinks fit for a few particular chosen societies.
Generally, except a few fortunate cooperative housing societies that have large membership, others have no separate office premises. Under normal circumstances, honorary secretaries of these societies have to store the records in their own premises.
Over a period of time, records in a society pile up and it storing these records becomes a problem for societies. The Federation of Cooperative Societies realised this problem and decided to request the Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Housing Societies, Pune to prescribe a preservation period for the records maintained by societies so that they could destroy the records after the prescribed period.
Accordingly a very exhaustive list of records and various documents to be maintained by societies with varying periods of preservation was prescribed by the Federation. It was referred to the Commissioner for Cooperation and the Registrar of Cooperative societies, Pune who after examining the list accorded his approval to the periods of preservation of the records and documents as suggested by the Federation with slight modifications.
Several cooperative housing societies can now take steps to destroy records, which have crossed the preservation periods. The work of destruction of records is very important and involves a lot of risk.
The office bearers of societies will have to first weed out the entire records and documents so as to avoid the possibilities of destruction of any important records and documents, which have not completed the preservation period.
After the work of weeding out of the records and documents proposed to be destroyed is complete, a detailed list of the records and documents proposed to be destroyed will have to be prepared and circulated amongst all the members of the managing committee, so that they will have sufficient time to go through the list and doubly ensure that no records and document which ought to be preserved will be destroyed.
The actual destruction of the records and documents should be undertaken only after the list of records and documents proposed to be destroyed is approved by the managing committee.