The Office of the Problematic Cooperative Management Committee confirmed that cent percent deposits of over 6,000 members of the crisis-hit cooperatives have been returned back to the depositors.    

As of Sunday, October 28, partial payments have been issued to 438 additional claimants.

At a programme organized on Sunday, the committee revealed that Rs 1 billion 515.3 million has been paid to the depositors by raising funds from the borrowers of the problematic cooperatives.    

During the event, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, Balaram Adhikari, stated that legislative amendments are underway to address issues faced by the cooperatives. He emphasized that the assets and passports of family members involved in fraudulent activities would be frozen as part of these reforms. Minister Adhikari also disclosed that additional cooperatives are likely to be declared problematic.

Arjun Prasad Pokharel, Secretary of the ministry, affirmed that changes to the law aim to ensure timely return of savings and prevent future sectoral issues. He pledged the ministry’s commitment to honoring agreements with victims of financial cooperatives, assuring that further protests would be unnecessary.

Committee Chair Shriman Kumar Gautam reported progress in resolving issues of 19 other problematic cooperatives, following repayments to depositors of three problematic cooperatives. He shared that a public notice has been issued to borrowers of these 19 cooperatives, urging loan repayment by October 31. The committee plans to freeze the assets and passports of defaulting cooperative operators, along with their family members, after the Tihar festival. -- RSS