He also claimed that the cooperative sector is lagging far behind compared to other sectors of the economy, and hence there was an urgent need to strengthen the same.
“The individuals at the helm of affairs of the societies should treat themselves as the trustees of the society and not the owners, and they should work for the progress of society,” said Parsekar.
He was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Sahakar Sammelan’ at the Peddem sport complex, Mapusa, on Sunday.
Calling for a change in the working of the societies, Parsekar said, “They should adopt the techniques of e-commerce and e-banking in their day-to-day operations.”
Cooperation Minister Mahadev Naik announced that state government has decided to offer Rs 20,000 to each self-help group as a one time grant to encourage them. He continued, “The budget of the Cooperation Department is only Rs 48 crore, which needs to be increased to provide more financial assistance to self-help groups. Also, some laws of cooperation hinder the progress of the cooperative sector. Such laws need to be changed.”
Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza stated that the cooperative sector had slowed down in the past few years and that the involvement of youth and self-help groups is very important for the progress of the sector.
