The parliamentarians have pressed for revising the Cooperatives Act to resolve the problems surrounding this sector.
In the meeting of the Agriculture, Cooperative and Natural Sources Committee under the House of Representatives on Sunday, a majority of the Committee members insisted on amendments in the Act. Ashok Kumar Chaudhary saw the need to change the laws to address problems prevailing the cooperatives sector. He suggested the government to sensitize public about the motto and beneficiary of cooperatives as well as put in place proper standards to regulate the Cooperatives.
Manbir Rai dubbed the incumbent government immature to iron out the problems of cooperatives sector. Surya Prasad Dhakal, former member of the Committee, viewed that new rule preventing more than one member from the same household from becoming member of the Cooperatives be introduced. Bir Bhadur Balayar opined that parliamentarians should not protect any erring cooperatives. He emphasized equipping the Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee with more human resources and providing security for the Committee members.
Committee President Dr Arzu Rana Deuba suggested that letter should be sent to the Prime Minister to address the problems in cooperatives sector. Stating that the Cooperatives’ problems had become dire in the recent times and government should not make payment for the amount embezzled by the bankrupt cooperatives. Chairperson of a Committee on Management of Problematic Cooperatives, Kashiraj Dahal, said that they could not deliver on their target in lack of human resources. Of the 31,000 Cooperatives across the country, 500 were problematic at present, he said. Dahal stated that although Cooperatives did well initially, this sector got problematic after investing in unproductive sector in the later days.
Similarly, Secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Gokarna Mani Duwadi, said that there was obstacle in resolving the problems of cooperatives since there was confusion on who would address the problems.
“When attempts are made to take actions against the fraudulent cooperatives, legal obstacle emerges. The federal, provincial and local levels should classify the cooperatives and intensify monitoring of them. The contradictory Acts and laws should be discussed and clarified at the earliest,” he asserted.
