Farmers’ body terms National Co-operative Development Corporation Act ‘anti-federal’

The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) Act, recently passed by Parliament, is an onslaught on the federal rights of States, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha said here in a statement. The umbrella organisation of farmer groups alleged that the NCDC Act would divert resources from the priority sector of agriculture and agriculture-based, rural industrial and infrastructure development, and that the new law was framed to suit the “corporate model of urban-centric development”.

Citing the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule, the SKM said “cooperation” was in the State list, and the NCDC Act of 2026 is a “naked intrusion” by the Union government into the powers of the States. “As per International Cooperative Alliance principles, autonomy and independence are basic principles of cooperation along with democratic control. The NCDC Act 2026 that permits NCDC to directly intervene in the cooperative societies and take their shares openly violates the basic principles of cooperation and facilitates centralisation of power into the hands of the Union government,” the SKM’s statement said.

The SKM argued that by directly extending financial assistance to cooperative societies, the NCDC would negate the control of State governments on its cooperatives, and centralise cooperative institutions under the power of the Union government for political dominance over States. “This reflects the authoritarian character of the corporate class fully endorsed by BJP-RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) combine,” the statement added.

The Supreme Court, through an order given in 2021, had stated that the Union government has limited powers to intervene in cooperative societies, which are under State governments, the SKM said, and the new amendment had been brought to nullify the apex court’s order.

“Cooperatives are the soul of rural India and are capable of bringing widespread developments in the villages. The NCDC Act 2026 permits its operations to extend to non-agricultural sectors, abolish the stipulation of developing industries in the rural regions means the resources meant to use for agriculture and rural industrial and infrastructure expansion will be diverted for urban-centric development suitable for corporate development model,” the statement said.