Coop. polls in Oct.

By Our Staff Correspondent

JAIPUR, APRIL 16. The elections to the cooperative bodies of all tiers in Rajasthan will be held in October this year. The announcement was made by the Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, while inaugurating the first ``Cooperative Congress'' organised by the Rajasthan Rajya Sahakari Sangh here on Sunday.

Assuring the State Government's support for strengthening the cooperative movement, Mr. Gehlot said all efforts would be made to get the proposed Cooperative Bill passed during the ongoing Budget session of the Assembly. ``This will be an ideal law and would provide a strong foundation to rejuvenate the cooperative movement in Rajasthan,'' he asserted.

Mr. Gehlot underlined the significance of cooperative movement in a State like Rajasthan where the distance of villages from towns was enormous and the Government had to incur huge expenditure even for ensuring essential services in the rural areas. The situation had been compounded by the third consecutive year of drought, he said.

The Chief Minister said equipping the cooperative bodies with more powers and giving them more autonomy would check corruption and improve the standard of life. Moreover, the polls would lead to the emergence of a strong cooperative network in the State on the lines of Panchayati Raj and local bodies.

The two-day cooperative congress will make several recommendations to link the cooperative bodies with socio- economic development of villages. Mr. Gehlot assured the participants that prompt action would be taken to implement their suggestions in a time-bound manner. He pointed out that cooperative movement could also contribute to industrialisation and employment generation.The Chief Minister inaugurated three new schemes - Sahakari Swarozgar Yojana, Janmangal Awas Yojana and Sahakar Prabha Yojana - on the occasion and honoured the Managing Director of IFFCO, Mr. U.S. Awasthi, in recognition of his significant services in the cooperative sector.

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