Kavrepalanchowk, March 3: Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, Balaram Adhikari, has pledged to take legal action against anyone involved in wrongdoing within cooperatives. While addressing the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Panauti-based Jyoti Mirmire Samuhik Savings and Credit Cooperative in Kavrepalanchowk today, the Minister acknowledged the growing perception that “all cooperatives are the same” due to the recent exposure of fraud in some cooperatives.

He assured that cooperative loans would be recovered through legal means under any circumstances, and that the savings of depositors would be refunded. “In recent months, we have managed to refund the savings of over 6,600 members,” he added. According to the Ministry, the Problematic Cooperative Management Committee and the Cooperative Department are actively working to resolve the issues. Additionally, an ordinance related to cooperatives has been introduced following discussions with concerned stakeholders. With 31,400 cooperatives across the country, some of which are internationally, nationally, provincially, and locally recognized and awarded, the Minister said that these institutions should not be viewed through a single lens, despite challenges emerged due to the misappropriation in some cooperatives.