Q. A few members of our society feel that the managing committee is biased in taking decisions on the complaints filed by them. Is there any provision where complaints can be dealt with impartially? Sunita Ramcharan, Matunga A.
The committee has to be neutral and unbiased, while dealing with complaints of the members. The decision should be based on the legal provisions and take into consideration the best interest of the members at large. Your society may consider to constitute an advisory complaints committee (ACC), which shall comprise five members, including two nominated by the general body apart from the committee members. It should also appoint one among them as the ACC chairperson.
One representative shall be from the committee, one from the statutory auditor and one member shall be from the federation. In case you are aggrieved by the committee decision, you can refer your complaint to the ACC. It shall decide your complaint by majority and inform the decision to you within 45 days of the receipt. If the ACC's decision is not acceptable to you, you may escalate your complaint from registrar to the cooperative commissioner.
If the ACC is not constituted, you may file a complaint, in accordance with bylaw 174, with the appropriate authority depending upon the nature of the grievance. You may refer to the cooperative commissioner's circular, dated May 4, 2023, for more details.
Q. I purchased a house in a bank auction, but later I came to know that the electricity had been disconnected due to non-payment by the previous owners. When I applied for reconnection, I was asked to pay the previous bills. Why should I be penalised to pay for electricity which I have not consumed? Lallan Singh, Borivali A.
When you buy a property through a bank auction, you have to read the terms and conditions carefully given in the bid document, which discloses the pending dues. The auction is on 'as is where is' basis and a disclosure to that effect is generally mentioned in the terms and conditions. It is the bidder's responsibility to do the due diligence before submitting the bid. The electricity company can recover the pending dues irrespective of whether you purchased the flat in an auction or otherwise.
According to clause 12.5 of the MERC (supply code and SOP) regulations, any dues which remain unpaid by a deceased consumer or the erstwhile owner or occupier of any premises, as a case may be, is considered as a charge on the premises transmitted to such legal representatives/ successors-in-law or transferred to the new owner/ occupier of the premises, as the case may be. Hence, as you are the flat's new owner, the electricity company is entitled to recover pending dues from you.
Q. Our society has 40 members, with four men and three women in the managing committee. I understand that the limit is only two women committee members. Are we required to remove one of them, bringing in a new male member? Rakesh Shinde, Mankhurd A.
Section 154B-21 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act provides that there shall be two seats “reserved” for women on the managing committee of each society to represent the women members. However, there is no restriction to have more than two women members. Any woman society member, elected, co-opted or nominated, shall be eligible to contest committee election in the open category irrespective of the two reserved seats. The constitution of your committee is absolutely fine and needs no change.
The questions are answered by Sharmila Ranade, a legal expert associated with Mumbai Grahak Panchayat. The questions, in brief, may be sent to mpanchayat@gmail.com
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