Cooperatives to get merger guideline soon

KATHMANDU, Jan 16: 

The government is developing a guideline to support the merger of cooperatives as their number has crossed 25,000 across the country. 

The Department of Cooperatives is developing the guideline including benefits for merger oriented cooperatives, said director general at the department Kedar Neupane. 

The merger is targeted towards cooperatives operating in towns, he said, adding that it will also reduce the risk associated with savings and credit cooperatives. Currently, big cooperatives have been facing problems due to excessive investment in housing and realty sector. About 11,000 savings and credit cooperatives are in operation and most of them are based in towns and suburbs. There are more than 5,000 savings and credit cooperatives in Kathmandu valley — Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts. 

“The guideline will be completed in the current fiscal year,” said Neupane. It will be prepared in coordination with the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, department and activists in the movement, he added. Savings and credit cooperatives have deposits of over Rs 150 million from around 300,000 poor families. 

The Registration, Accounting and Monitoring Directive enforced last year has been encouraging cooperatives to merge. “Merger is a must for effective monitoring of cooperatives,” said officer at Division Cooperatives Office, Kathmandu Krishna Prasad Sharma. 

However, the merger process among cooperatives has already started. About 27 cooperatives have merged in Morang, Nawalparasi, Kavre, Lamjung, Dolakha and Palpa.

Source: THT