Taking a step towards transparent governance, the Odisha Government has brought into force a long awaited amendment in the Societies Registration Act.
A senior functionary of the State Government said the amendment will help authorities to monitor and regulate the activities of both the State and district level societies in a much better manner.
The Societies Registration Act, 1860 which was amended vide the Societies Registration (Odisha Amendment) Act, 2021 was notified vide Gazette number 743 dated 13.05.2021 and the appointed date for coming into force of the amended Act was notified on May 21.
For speedy disposal of grievances/ cases on intra-societal conflict, the present amendment empowers any member of the society to file a petition in the Court of Senior Civil Judge having jurisdiction over the place at which the office of the society is situated, he said.
“With the extant amendment, the validity period of the registered societies will be of five years and renewal of societies is to be made in every five years,†he said, clarifying that the society in which the Government is a member or contributor is exempted from such renewal.
“To bring in transparency and to instil a spirit of accountability, the donations received by the societies from various sources and expenditures in the activities of the societies will be audited and annual audit report will be submitted along with balance sheet before the Registrar,†he said. This is not applicable for societies whose average annual income in last 3 years is less than Rs 1 lakh, he clarified.
As per the present amendment, any society registered under the Act shall not distribute among its governing body members or general members in cash or kind, any profit or surplus that may have accrued from its activities. For non-submission of annual audit report with balance sheet to the Registrar of Societies, the registration certificate of the societies is liable for cancellation, the amendment stipulates.
A registered society is viewed as a separate legal entity, built for development of fine arts, science, or literature or for providing useful knowledge for charitable purposes, the statute describes.
