Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday announced that the state government will stop granting permissions to traditional credit co-operative societies, citing widespread misuse and financial irregularities. The announcement came during the 72nd All India Co-operative Week 2025 celebrations.
Sawant remarked that many of these societies have become “a system of loot” and are no longer aligned with the principles of accountability and transparency. He emphasized that the government will gradually phase out such entities, promoting instead modern, professionally managed co-operatives with digital oversight to prevent financial mismanagement.
“Traditional co-operative societies have served their time. We will not allow new permissions for these societies. The focus now is on strengthening new-age co-operatives that are transparent, technology-driven, and professionally managed,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister also highlighted initiatives to increase participation of women and youth in the co-operative sector and explore opportunities for start-ups within the ecosystem. He noted that such reforms are vital to restore public trust and ensure the proper functioning of the sector.
In recent years, several credit societies in Goa have been embroiled in financial scandals. Notable cases include the Visionary Urban Co-operative Credit Society, involved in a Rs 39 crore scam, the Satteri Urban Co-operative Credit Society, with a Rs 4 crore misappropriation, and the Ashtagandha Urban Credit Co-operative Society, where Rs 11 crore was reportedly lost through fraudulent loans and fake sanctions.
Sawant stressed that weak audit practices in traditional co-operatives have often enabled such frauds, reinforcing the need for a digital, transparent, and professionally managed co-operative framework in the state.
