Coconut Development Board (Amendment) Bill, 2021 gets Parliament’s approval

New Delhi, August 4: The Parliament on Wednesday passed a legislation to reorganize the composition of the Coconut Development Board whose mandate is to develop the coconut industry in the country and enhance product marketability outside India.

The Coconut Development Board (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Lok Sabha, four days after Rajya Sabha gave its consent to the legislation.

The amended legislation seeks to make the post of the chairman a non-executive one and creates a separate CEO post to be appointed of the rank of a joint secretary-level officer from the Central government.

The bill also seeks to introduce a member representing the Department of Consumer Affairs by substituting the member representing the Department of Civil Supplies and Cooperation.

Seeking to enhance the efficiency of the management, the bill proposes to increase the state representation in the board from three to four with the inclusion of Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, apart from the representations of the coconut growers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the bill has sought to include representations from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.