To develop the handloom activities in an organized way the concept of Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society was introduced in the State under the Assam Cooperative Societies Act, 1949, Act -1 of 1951. A three tire cooperative system was formed as (i) Apex Level Society, (ii) Regional Level/District Level Society and (iii) Primary Weavers Cooperative Society. During January, 1985 the Cooperation Department, Govt. of Assam had shifted the responsibility of Registration, Audit, Inspection, Management etc. of Handloom Cooperative Societies to the Director, Handloom & Textiles, Assam designated as Ex-Officio, Additional Registrar of Cooperative Societies (Handloom) as per provision of the Act. The Cooperation Department had also transferred 3 Senior Inspector/Auditors and 24 Junior Inspector/Auditors to this Directorate. The cooperative section officers organize, make inspection and audit of the Societies regularly and also guide the societies to hold the Annual General Meeting in time.
There is only one Apex Level Handloom Cooperative Society under the Directorate in the State. It is the Assam Apex Weavers and Artisans Cooperative Federation Ltd. (ARTFED). A Board of Directors runs the management and business of the ARTFED as per provision of the Bye Laws. The basic business of ARTFED is to supply yarns to the member Primary Cooperative Societies, to procure finished products of hand woven fabrics from them and to sale out the products through their established show rooms inside and outside the State.
Apart from this, the ARTFED is also eligible to implement different schemes of Govt. of India and State Govt. for development and marketing promotion of the hand woven products of the weavers of the State.
Name of the Society: Assam Apex Weavers and Artisans Cooperative Federation Limited.
In the State of Assam there are two Regional Level Societies and Five District Level Societies are functioning as per Special Audit report. The procedure of business of these societies are similar to that of the Apex Society but confined only to the respective region and district.
| Sl. No. | Name of the Society | Category of the Society |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suwansiri Valley Regional Handloom Cooperative Society Ltd., Lakhimpur. | Regional Level |
| 2 | N C Hills Tribal Regional handloom Cooperative Society Ltd., Dima Hasao. | Regional Level |
| 3 | Dhemaji District Handloom Cooperative Society Limited | District Level |
| 4 | Morigaon District handloom Cooperative Society Ltd | District Level |
| 5 | Nalbari District Central Handloom Cooperative Society Ltd. | District Level |
| 6 | Karimganj District Central Handloom Cooperative Society Limited | District Level |
| 7 | Hailakandi District Central Handloom Cooperative Society Limited | District Level |
There are about 4012 nos. of Primary Weavers Cooperative Societies (PWCS) registered under the Directorate in the State. Each society has a minimum of 100 weaver members. These societies are involved directly in production of handloom fabrics. The society is run by a Managing Committee consisting of 15 members as per provision of the Bye Law under amended Assam Cooperative Act, 2007. The Managing Committee is headed by an elected President. A Secretary is appointed by the Committee to execute the resolutions taken in the Committee meeting.
As per Special Audit of the PWCS conducted during 2012-2013, about 1988 PWCS has been identified as in functioning status. As a result there are 1995 Handloom Weavers Cooperative Societies (1988 PWCS + 7 RWCS/DWCS) and one Apex Handloom Cooperative Society are in function.
| Sl. No. | Name of the District | Number of Society |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kamrup (Metro) | 69 Nos. |
| 2 | Kamrup (Rural) | 200 Nos. |
| 3 | Morigaon | 74 Nos. |
| 4 | Nagaon | 96 Nos. |
| 5 | Karbi Anglong | 71 Nos. |
| 6 | Golaghat | 62 Nos. |
| 7 | Jorhat | 53 Nos. |
| 8 | Sivasagar | 76 Nos. |
| 9 | Dibrugarh | 30 Nos. |
| 10 | Tinsukia | 37 Nos. |
| 11 | Dhemaji | 170 Nos. |
| 12 | Lakhimpur | 189 Nos. |
| 13 | Sonitpur | 60 Nos. |
| 14 | Udalguri | 47 Nos. |
| 15 | Darrang | 68 Nos. |
| 16 | Nalbari | 128 Nos. |
| 17 | Barpeta | 69 Nos. |
| 18 | Bongaigaon | 25 Nos. |
| 19 | Kokrajhar | 111 Nos. |
| 20 | Baksa | 27 Nos. |
| 21 | Chirrang | 3 Nos. |
| 22 | Dhubri | 72 Nos. |
| 23 | Goalpara | 46 Nos. |
| 24 | Cachar | 35 Nos. |
| 25 | Karimganj | 91 Nos. |
| 26 | Hailakandi | 60 Nos. |
| 27 | Dima Hasao | 19 Nos. |
| TOTAL | 1988 Nos. |