Kathmandu: The government has prepared to begin refunding deposits of problematic cooperatives from the third week of this month. Prior to this, the Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee gathered details of such cooperatives and depositors.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the Committee’s assessment indicates that approximately Rs 46 billion in deposits from around 76,000 customers needs to be refunded. Among them, most are small-scale depositors. Those with deposits of up to Rs 500,000 have been classified as small-scale customers, while those with deposits above Rs 500,000 have been categorized as large depositors, numbering 18,000 out of the total 76,000, as stated by committee member secretary Rabin Dhakal.
Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Pratibha Rawal, confirmed that most preparations for refunding these savings have been completed and the process will begin soon. In the first phase, priority will be given to small-scale depositors.
The committee has prepared its procedure focusing on initiating deposit refunds along with loan recovery. The timeframe for reclaiming deposits for those who miss the initial phase to claim their deposits will begin in the third week of July.
The committee has clarified that the government will utilize the amount in the government revolving fund as a loan if the respective committee’s fund turns insufficient for refunding. As Dhakal mentioned, the committee will implement stringent policies in accordance with the law for loan recovery.