Team Goemkarponn
MAPUSA: More than half of Goa’s registered cooperative societies do not have financial information available in government records, leaving a significant portion of the sector without a clear picture of its economic performance.
Goa has 5,853 registered cooperative societies, according to government data. Of these, financial details are available for 2,489 societies, with 1,746 reporting profits and 743 reporting losses. Financial information is unavailable for the remaining 3,357 societies.
The records also indicate that 696 societies are non-functional. Another 165 societies are currently under liquidation, while eight have been dissolved. The government classifies 4,985 of the registered societies as functional.
A sizeable share of the cooperative sector consists of housing societies, which are not established primarily to generate profits. This is one factor that can make conventional profit-and-loss figures less applicable to a large section of the registered entities.
Cooperation Minister Subhash Shirodkar said the department monitors the financial position of cooperative societies through statutory audits, inspections and scrutiny of returns submitted under the applicable law.
According to the minister, the operational status and financial performance of individual societies are influenced by decisions taken by their respective boards of directors, which formulate the policies governing their activities.
The government also extends assistance to cooperative societies through measures such as share capital support, loan-cum-subsidy schemes and grants, depending on the category of society.
The government has further stated that Self Help Groups and Pani Vantap societies are exempt from audit, while housing cooperatives are not profit-oriented. These factors may account for some of the societies for which conventional financial information is unavailable.
