Rs 1.50 billion returned back to despositors of problematic cooperatives

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 30: The government's Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee has refunded Rs 1.51 billion to depositors. Holding a program yesterday, the committee informed this. Out of the total Rs 39.93 billion claimed by depositors, NPR 1.515 billion has been returned.

Of the refunded amount, Rs1.485 billion has been fully settled, while Rs 31.99 million was returned partially. 

Among 62,760 depositors from 22 troubled cooperatives, 6,155 depositors have had their savings refunded. Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, Balram Adhikari, stated that savings from 12 older cooperatives, including Oriental, will be fully settled by the end of this fiscal year. For 10 other cooperatives, 50% of their savings will be refunded within the same period.

According to Shriman Kumar Gautam, chairman of the committee, they will begin auctioning the properties of cooperative board members, borrowers, and guarantors after the Tihar festival. It will also freeze their accounts to collect the necessary funds for refunds.

Borrowers have until November 1 (15 Kartik) to repay their loans. After that, their properties will be seized and auctioned. The refunds will come from collections made by the cooperatives, their directors, and borrowers.

According to the committee,  it is initiating final action to recover Rs 23.63 billion in loans from 13,075 borrowers this fiscal year. This includes freezing and blacklisting the properties of borrowers and guarantors from the same household. Immovable assets belonging to directors and managers will also be identified, frozen, and auctioned as part of the recovery process.