Five Government Nominees for Maharashtra Cooperatives With Over ₹500 Crore Turnover; DCC Banks Exempt
The Maharashtra cabinet has approved five government nominees, four with voting rights, on the boards of cooperatives with over Rs 500 crore turnover. DCC banks are exempt.
Photo: Pradeep717 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mumbai, 5th November 2026: Large cooperative societies in Maharashtra will soon have five government-nominated members on their boards. The state cabinet approved the change on Wednesday, 4 November, for societies with an annual turnover above ₹500 crore.
The decision was reported by Pudhari and Sakal. It will be carried out through a new proviso to Section 73AA(2) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960.
Who are the five nominees?
One will be a government officer not below the rank of Assistant Registrar of cooperative societies. This officer will sit on the board without a vote.
The other four will be people with experience in the society’s line of work, such as dairy, sugar, banking or marketing. They will have full voting rights at board meetings.
Can the nominees become chairman?
No. The four voting nominees cannot contest elections for office-bearer posts such as chairman, vice-chairman or secretary. Those posts remain with directors elected by members.
Which societies are covered, and which are not?
Only cooperatives with an annual turnover above ₹500 crore. That covers the state’s largest dairy unions, sugar factories, urban cooperative banks, credit societies and marketing federations.
District Central Cooperative Banks (DCC banks) are excluded.
The decision was linked in news coverage to Kolhapur’s Gokul dairy union, one of the largest milk cooperatives in Maharashtra, though the cabinet note does not name it.
What it means in the Pune region
Pune district has several cooperatives large enough to cross the ₹500 crore mark, including major urban cooperative banks and the milk unions that supply the city. Their boards will now have government nominees sitting alongside elected directors.
Supporters say outside experts bring better oversight to institutions that handle members’ savings and farmers’ payments. Critics in the cooperative sector are likely to question whether nominees with votes weaken the elected board’s control. The text of the amendment, once published, will show how nominees are chosen.
A second cooperative decision the same day
The cabinet also decided not to appoint administrators in 18 cooperative societies whose terms have ended or whose elections were put off because of drought. Rule 4 of the 2014 committee election rules will be amended for this.
Read the full list of Maharashtra cabinet decisions from 4 November, and more business news on Puneri Pages.
What we are waiting for
The ordinance or bill text, the start date, and the process for selecting the four expert nominees have not been published. We will update this story when they are.
