SCENARIO OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

The Himachal Pradesh lit the bonfire of co-operative movement in the country, when first co-operative society was established in Panjawar village of Una District in 1892 twelve years before the enactment of Co-operative Societies Act in 1904. In 1948 the Pradesh inherited 663 cooperative societies but the number of cooperative societies has increased from 3677 in 1975 to 4426 in 2007-08 which shows an increase of 20.36%. The co-operative movement in Himachal Pradesh has assumed pivotal and additional role particularly after the fifth plan when the emphasis has shifted towards betterment of weaker sections of the society. In the modern concept, cooperative are established to perform specific functions, cooperative societies may be found at local, regional, national and international level where a distinction is made among them on the basis of the extent of area they cover. We come across co-operative societies in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Within the primary sectors, there are co-operatives for farming, marketing, processing, fishing, dairying etc. Co-operative in the secondary sector contains industrial co-operative and in the tertiary sector, we have co-operative banking. Apart from these, there are consumers cooperative, housing cooperatives, co-operative societies for displaced persons etc. But though these co-operatives have diversified goals, they all work in a similar manner. The co-operative enterprise follow the following principles of co-operation i.e. open and voluntary membership, democratic set-up, limited interest on capital, equal distribution of profit, co-operative education and co-operation among the cooperatives.