Cooperative Crisis: Billions Lost, Savers Demand Action

Kathmandu. Billions of rupees of millions of citizens are stuck in dozens of cooperative institutions across the country. According to the latest data from the Problematic Cooperative Management Committee, claims worth more than 45 billion rupees have been filed in problematic cooperatives so far. More than 76,000 savers have filed claims.

For this reason, savers have been protesting and picketing on the streets since the past. The government has also announced to return the money of savers whose life's earnings have been lost. But there is a huge difference between the government's actions and the data.

The government had made arrangements to create a revolving fund for the return of savings through an ordinance amending the Cooperative Act. But only 250 million rupees have been deposited in that fund. This is only 0.54 percent of the total claims.

The committee has been given the mandate to spend this money only in essential situations. Committee Chairman Dilliram Acharya says this money will be kept in a separate account and will not be spent easily.

'This money will not be spent easily. If a cooperative has not even a single rupee in its bank account, but if a saver needs to be given some amount urgently due to medical treatment or any other reason, only then will the money from this fund be used,' says Chairman Poudel, 'Later, after the loan of the concerned cooperative is recovered, the amount will be reimbursed to the same revolving fund.'

Savings Return Announced from First Week of Jestha, But Only 350 Million Raised!

The committee has made public a work plan to return money to small savers from the first week of the upcoming month of Jestha. According to the committee's plan, small savers with savings up to 500,000 rupees will be given priority and money will be returned gradually from that time.

According to the data, the number of individuals with savings less than 500,000 rupees is around 58,000. The committee has stated that about 6.66 billion rupees will be needed to return money to them alone.

The committee has only recovered 350 million rupees from debtors so far. Chairman Poudel says that the committee has about 600 million rupees including the 250 million rupees given by the government. If the 350 million rupees collected by the committee is distributed proportionally among 58,000 small savers, each person will get only 6,000 rupees.

Preparation to Publicize Names to Increase Pressure on Debtors

The government has adopted a policy of increasing pressure on debtors to recover money. Minister of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation, Pratibha Rawal, informed that the names of debtors of problematic cooperatives are going to be made public.

'We will publish the names of debtors who have taken loans from problematic cooperatives by this evening. The committee will issue a public notice of 35 days for loan repayment, and if not paid within that time, bank accounts and passports will be frozen and other legal actions will be initiated,' she said.

The committee plans to publish the names and pictures of debtors who do not repay the loan within 35 days, do not come into contact, or do not provide written commitment for installment payments. Not only that, but the names of defiant debtors and their immediate family members will also be included in the blacklist.

जेठ पहिलो सातादेखि सहकारीको बचत फिर्ता सुरु गर्छौँ : मन्त्री रावल

७६ हजार बचतकर्ताको ४६ अर्ब बचत फिर्ता गर्न बाँकी

Committee Chairman Poudel stated that the directors were found to have withdrawn billions of rupees without collateral by creating relatives, employees, and fake debtors, and that the committee is coordinating with the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police and other investigative bodies to bring such paper debtors and large debtors into the legal net.

Savers Warn Against Discrimination

After the committee announced that only small savers would have their money returned, the Victims Savers Federation warned the committee not to do so. Chairman Kushalbh KC demanded that the government distribute the money equally, as large savers would be discriminated against if only small savers were repaid. Otherwise, the federation would be forced to protest again, according to KC.

'Large savers' savings are also their earnings earned through hard work, but to return only the savings of small savers and not those of large savers is an insult to them,' KC says, 'We have hope in this committee and the government, but we don't want to have to protest again.' Committee Chairman Poudel assured that large savers would also receive the same amount as small savers and urged them to be confident about this.

Provision Made by Government in Ordinance Becomes a Hindrance

The Problematic Cooperative Management Committee has stated that there are cases where loans were taken in 2050/51 and not repaid, and savings were made since that time but not returned. However, the government has made arrangements through an ordinance that benefits debtors who have not repaid for such a long time.

According to the amended provision, cooperative debtors will no longer have to pay more than 100 percent of the loan amount as interest. With the implementation of this provision, debtors who have not repaid for years will be able to settle their loans by paying interest equal to the principal.