Land Management Secretary Bhujel Calls for Fund Creation to Refund Cooperative Loss Victims

Madan Bhujel, Secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, emphasized the need for the federal, provincial, and local governments to establish separate funds to reimburse savings lost by cooperative victims. He stated that while a fund has been set up at the central level to start refunding small cooperative savers, provincial and local bodies should similarly create funds from their respective budgets.

Secretary Bhujel pointed out the severity of issues in the cooperative sector, noting that the federal government alone cannot resolve the problem. He clarified, “We have already initiated a fund at the center to refund cooperative savings. If our modality proves effective, provinces and local levels must adopt it as well.” He also shared that the federal government plans to allocate additional funds to this refund mechanism in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.

Highlighting that procedures have been formulated to distribute refunds to cooperative victims, Secretary Bhujel mentioned that provincial and local governments may develop similar guidelines. Stressing that cooperative challenges are a national concern, he urged for it to be given special priority. During the meeting, Secretary Bhujel also announced that services related to land registry and surveying would be initiated from local levels starting next year.