KATHMANDU, April 23: The government has ramped up efforts to recover defaulted loans from problematic cooperatives in a bid to return funds to affected depositors.
Issuing a public notice on Tuesday, the Problematic Cooperative Management Committee (PCMC) directed directors, debtor members, managers, employees, and guarantors of problematic cooperatives to repay their outstanding loans within 15 days. In the first phase, the government has set the deadline for 20 problematic cooperatives to ensure prompt action.
The cooperatives named in the notice include Standard Savings and Credit Cooperative, Pacific Savings and Investment Cooperative, Prabhu Savings and Credit Cooperative, Societal Savings and Credit Cooperative, Lunibha Multipurpose Cooperative, Consumer Savings and Credit Cooperative, Oriental Cooperative Limited, Kohinoor Hill Savings and Credit Cooperative, Vegas Savings and Credit Cooperative, and Pashupati Savings and Credit Cooperative.
Others on the list are Tulsi Multiple Cooperative Society, Shivshikhar Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Hamro Naya Krishi Cooperative Society, Krishi Bikas Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Kantipur Saving and Credit Cooperative Society, Shree Laliguras Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Gautam Shree Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Gorkha Saving and Credit Cooperative Society, Nepal Cooperative Financial Institution, and Shree Ideal Yamuna Hamro Multipurpose Cooperative Society.
Govt issues ordinance to return depositors’ money from problema...
The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA) has declared these cooperatives problematic and placed them under the PCMC’s jurisdiction for asset management and liability settlement.
According to the PCMC, it had repeatedly informed the concerned parties through the office’s website, national daily newspapers, and by telephone. However, the debtors failed to come forward to repay their outstanding dues.
The PCMC has warned that legal action will be taken against defaulters who fail to settle their dues within the deadline. “If the loan is not settled within the said date, the names of the defaulters will be made public. Subsequently, the assets and accounts of the defaulters, their families, and guarantors will be frozen, and they will be barred from receiving public services,” the notice stated.
The committee added that outstanding amounts will be recovered through auctioning, sale, or other arrangements as per the Cooperative Act 2017 and the Cooperative Regulations 2018.
Meanwhile, the MoLMCPA has started formulating a modality to return money to affected depositors of problematic cooperatives. Cooperative Minister Prativa Rawal has held discussions with chartered accountants aimed at maintaining financial discipline in the sector, according to the ministry.
After the Balen Shah-led government took office, it announced plans to begin refunding deposits to small depositors of cooperatives within 100 days, as part of its recently unveiled 100-point reform agenda. The move is seen as the government’s response to one of the most pressing financial concerns that have lingered for over a decade, affecting ordinary citizens.
Although the government’s decision has offered some relief to depositors, critics say the move does not address the broader crisis facing the cooperative sector, particularly as borrowers accused of misusing cooperative funds have yet to be held fully accountable.
Ravi Lamichhane, chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which leads the government, is among those facing allegations of misusing funds from multiple cooperatives and is currently involved in legal proceedings.
Critics say failure to act against prominent defaulters alongside cooperatives may fuel perceptions of unequal treatment and weaken trust in the system.
