Our society comprises of bungalows and there is an internal road which is required to be maintained. The road is in a bad shape and has become a hazard for elders and children. The society is not repairing and is giving different reasons for the same for the past decade.
Anandita Chatterjee, Turbhe
The internal road being within the premises of your society, it is the responsibility of the MC to repair the same. The MC members are jointly and severally liable for all the acts and omissions detrimental to the interest of the society. You may consider calling a special general body meeting by submitting a requisition application signed by one-fifth of the total number of members to consider the repair.
The secretary has to place the requisition before the MC within seven days for fixing the time and date of the meeting. Five days' clear notice should be sent to the members to discuss and decide on the agenda given in the requisition. The quorum of the meeting shall be twothird of the total members or 20, whichever is less. Such a meeting cannot be adjourned for the want of quorum and will be dissolved after 30 minutes of the scheduled time if the required quorum is not present.
If the society fails to convene the requisition meeting, you may complain to the registrar. You may also file a complaint online through the sahakarsamvad.com portal on payment of Rs50. The complaints will be forwarded to the DDR of your ward. In case the society fails to carry out the repairs as decided by the general body, a complaint can be filed with the cooperative court. (Bye Laws 96-100, 155- 157, 159,174).
There are 15 members in our society. We are given to understand that our managing committee (MC) should comprise five members, including three from the reserved category, a woman and one general category. We do not have members from the reserved category. How do we constitute the MC?
Charleston D'sa, Vakola
You are referring to the cooperative department's circular dated January 1, 2024. Considering the problems faced by societies like yours, the government vide its GR dated February 2, 2024, has superseded the decision taken earlier.
According to the said GR the MC shall be of seven members for those societies having fewer than 50 members and the quorum for meeting of the MCs of such societies shall be three. Further vide order dated February 27, 2024, the state cooperative department has notified that the requirement to appoint members in the reserved category shall be applicable to societies having 50 or more members. Thus your society has to elect seven members to the MC comprising one woman and the rest from the general category.
During the pandemic housing societies were allowed to conduct virtual meetings of the MC and general body. Can Societies continue to hold virtual meetings to ensure larger participation by enabling non-resident members also to attend the meetings?
HN Swamy, Chembur
Considering the restriction on people gathering in more numbers and to avoid the risk of getting infected, the cooperation commissioner had issued an order to conduct the MC and general body meetings through video conferencing or other digital mode during the pandemic. The decisions taken in the meetings through such video conferencing were held valid.
This was a stop-gap arrangement to deal with the pandemic. Now that the situation is back to normal, meetings are being held in physical mode. To the best of my knowledge no extension has been granted for virtual meetings. In my opinion, with technological advancement there shouldnt be a problem in holding virtual meetings as long as the society is complying with provisions of the MCS Act, rules and bye laws. You may seek prior written permission from the registrar for holding virtual meetings.
The questions are answered by Sharmila Ranade, a legal expert associated with Mumbai Grahak Panchayat. The questions, in brief, may be sent to fpjchs@gmail.com
