Special committee on cooperatives submits report to Parliament

Kathmandu, September 16 — The President of the Parliamentary Investigation Special Committee on Misuse of Co-operatives Saving, Surya Thapa, has submitted the report prepared according to the committee's mandate to Parliament.

On Monday, Thapa presented the report during the House of Representatives meeting.

Thapa explained that the report was compiled based on detailed fact-finding and investigation of the complaints received by the committee. He noted that 56 meetings were held, with the latest meeting attended by the Prime Minister, who expressed commitment to resolving cooperative issues.

Thapa mentioned that he had discussions with 451 individuals and interrogated 55 people, including 47 cooperative operators.

On May 28, the House of Representatives established a special committee led by CPN (UML) MP Surya Thapa.

The committee includes Sarita Bhusal from UML, Badri Pandey and Ishwori Devi Neuupane from the Nepali Congress, Lekhnath Dahal from the CPN (Maoist Centre), Shishir Khanal from the Rashtriya Swotantra Party, and Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan from the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party.

President Thapa informed Parliament that the committee analyzed the financial records of 40 cooperatives. He presented 14 key recommendations and emphasized that, despite challenges, the cooperative sector holds significant potential.

“It is crucial to address challenges and reform the cooperatives for their revival. This requires everyone’s cooperation,” Thapa stated. “If we all work together as per the commitments made in the constitution, we can uplift the cooperative sector.”

He highlighted the issue of 'fake' debtors in the cooperative sector and stressed the need to stop such illegal practices. Thapa requested that the Parliament direct the government to implement the recommendations from the report.

He expressed confidence that the report would dispel the dark cloud hanging over the cooperative sector.