Oriental depositors picket Baluwatar

Depositors of the troubled Oriental Cooperative on Sunday picketed the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, demanding the government implement the recommendations of a high-level commission formed to probe irregularities in cooperatives. In the case of Oriental, the Gauri Bahadur Karki-led commission had suggested forming a rehabilitation committee to refund the depositors’ money by confiscating properties of Oriental’s Chairman Sudhir Basnet. According to the commission, promoters of various cooperatives embezzled Rs11 billion of the general public’s deposits. Oriental alone misappropriated half of the amount. Kuntidevi Pokharel, coordinator of the Cooperative Victims Women Welfare Protection Committee, said they were compelled to stage the protest after the government’s reluctance in addressing their problems. “Despite our plea, Prime Minister KP Oli has not even let us meet him once,” she said. The depositors had also launched a similar protest a month ago. They have accused the government of not doing its bit to help the victims to recover their money. As per the proposed Cooperative Act drafted by the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoCPA), a rehabilitation committee will be formed and those convicted of embezzling money from cooperatives will be jailed for 20 years. The proposed jail term has been slashed to seven years, and the bill has been languishing at the Cabinet for the last six months. Champa Karki from Baneshwor, one of the victims, expressed her dissatisfaction over the government’s reluctance to implement recommendations of the Karki-led commission. “The delay in forwarding the proposed Act has been offering room for swindlers like Basnet,” said Karki, demanding the government arrest Basnet. In his recent move, Basnet on May 19 had asked the Department of Cooperatives to allow him to complete his housing projects so that he could settle his liabilities by selling the properties. Basnet had said he had hired a consultant to resume the construction works at his three housing projects—Chakrapath Heights in Dhapasi, Imperial Apartment in Naxal and Vegas City in Imadol. In the letter written to department, Basnet has assured he will pay back the depositors’ money once the houses are sold. Basnet, however, had made a similar commitment two years ago at a meeting with the depositors. Meanwhile, the MoCPA said more than half of the cooperatives have been found not following the norms. “During inspections, a large number of cooperatives—savings and credit in particular—have been found not abiding by the law,” said Shankar Prasad Adhikari, secretary of the ministry. Source: ekantipur