New Delhi, Apr 28 (UNI) The government will introduce a bill in the next session of Parliament for amending the Constitution to ensure democratic, autonomous and professional functioning of cooperatives.

Union Minister for Agriculture and Cooperation Sharad Pawar disclosed this while presiding over the 62nd meeting of the General Council of National Cooperative Development Corporation here today.

Observing that Cooperatives now suffer from acute dependency and lack autonomy, Mr Pawar said that unless independence and autonomy were granted to cooperatives it would be difficult to sustain them as viable entities.

For healthy growth and meaningful existence of cooperatives, reforms in the cooperative system are must, he added.

The Cooperatives are presently facing financial uncertainty and tough competition from the private sector. Times have substantially changed since cooperatives were first established, basically to protect the farmers from exploitative elements.

With the agrarian economy evolving into a near commercial enterprise, it is imperative that cooperatives too change with the times and become efficient institutions catering to the needs of farmers, growers and producers, he underlined.

The Minister said that there is an urgent need to encourage employment generating investments in agriculture, agro processing, small scale industries and service sectors and the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) should focus on these area as well as on the rapid development of North-Eastern region through cooperative efforts.

UNI JSS BBS PV ND1906