Maharashtra Assembly passed amendment to Public Trusts Act, 1950

Maharashtra Assembly on 15 March 2016 passed a bill to amend the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act 1950. The bill provides for de-registration of long-defunct trusts among other things.

Once passed by the Legislative Council, the law would pave way for initiating action against 3.5 lakh such charitable trusts, about 50 percent of the total trusts registered under the Trusts Act.

Highlights of the Amendment Bill

• It will allow initiating action against the trusts whose trustees have defaulted on reporting the change of details or audited accounts or making other compliances in last five years.

• It allows for de-registration of trusts whose purpose of formation is either fulfilled or became impossible to fulfill.

• The bill provides for taking over of management of de-registered trusts and disposal of their properties by sale and depositing of proceeds in government treasury.

• It also makes it compulsory for the trusts to take previous permission of the charity commissioner before borrowing money.

Other Bill passed by the Assembly

The state Assembly cleared a bill to amend the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960, barring tainted directors of banks from contesting polls to any cooperative bank post for 10 years.

The provision will be applicable to all members of the board of directors dissolved by the state government in the past as per the directives of the Reserve Bank of India. If such a person is currently a director for various banks, he will have to resign from the post, if any bank governed by him was dissolved for financial irregularities in the past 10 years.

The state cabinet has already taken a decision in this regard and issued an ordinance which has been imposed with retrospective effect.

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