Licenses of 190 cooperatives scrapped
KATHMANDU, AUG 03 -
The Department of Cooperatives (DoC) revoked the licences of 190 cooperatives in 2010-11. A majority of them lost their permits for failing to go into operation after being registered, said the DoC.
“We have even started the liquidation process of a number of them which discontinued operations,” said DoC registrar Sudarshan Dhakal. As per the department, a majority of them are from the Kathmandu Valley.
About 15-20 percent of the cooperatives are found to become inactive every year. A cooperative is declared inactive if it does not conduct transactions and does not report to the DoC for two years. “The department carries out a review of the cooperatives every two years,” Dhakal said.
Despite the department’s efforts, a large number of cooperatives in the country still remain unregulated. Of late, the government has given priority to cooperatives through its budget. However, the sector is not properly monitored in the absence of a proper policy and act. “Lack of a clear act and policy has impeded the cooperatives movement,” Dhakal said. According to him, there is a need for a national policy and a credit union act to regulate the cooperatives effectively.
There are now 22,646 cooperatives operating in the country. Out of them, 10,500 are savings and credit cooperatives. Around 2,000 of the savings and credit cooperatives have annual transactions of more than Rs 500 million. The government has planned to regulate the cooperatives with transactions of more than Rs 500 million through Nepal Rastra Bank.
Meanwhile, the DoC is planning to inspect the functioning of around 5,000 savings and credit cooperatives this year. They make up only 30 percent of the total number of cooperatives. According to Dhakal, the department has delegated authority to the Nepal Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Unions to scrutinize 966 of its member cooperatives while the department itself has planned to investigate 4,910 cooperatives.
Similarly, the department has planned to make the reporting by different cooperatives with annual financial transactions more than Rs 100 million more effective. Currently, 75-80 percent of the cooperatives are reporting their financial status to the DoC.
Source: Kantipur
The Department of Cooperatives (DoC) revoked the licences of 190 cooperatives in 2010-11. A majority of them lost their permits for failing to go into operation after being registered, said the DoC.
“We have even started the liquidation process of a number of them which discontinued operations,” said DoC registrar Sudarshan Dhakal. As per the department, a majority of them are from the Kathmandu Valley.
About 15-20 percent of the cooperatives are found to become inactive every year. A cooperative is declared inactive if it does not conduct transactions and does not report to the DoC for two years. “The department carries out a review of the cooperatives every two years,” Dhakal said.
Despite the department’s efforts, a large number of cooperatives in the country still remain unregulated. Of late, the government has given priority to cooperatives through its budget. However, the sector is not properly monitored in the absence of a proper policy and act. “Lack of a clear act and policy has impeded the cooperatives movement,” Dhakal said. According to him, there is a need for a national policy and a credit union act to regulate the cooperatives effectively.
There are now 22,646 cooperatives operating in the country. Out of them, 10,500 are savings and credit cooperatives. Around 2,000 of the savings and credit cooperatives have annual transactions of more than Rs 500 million. The government has planned to regulate the cooperatives with transactions of more than Rs 500 million through Nepal Rastra Bank.
Meanwhile, the DoC is planning to inspect the functioning of around 5,000 savings and credit cooperatives this year. They make up only 30 percent of the total number of cooperatives. According to Dhakal, the department has delegated authority to the Nepal Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Unions to scrutinize 966 of its member cooperatives while the department itself has planned to investigate 4,910 cooperatives.
Similarly, the department has planned to make the reporting by different cooperatives with annual financial transactions more than Rs 100 million more effective. Currently, 75-80 percent of the cooperatives are reporting their financial status to the DoC.
Source: Kantipur
