The government is going to establish a 'revolving fund' to return the money of the savers of problematic cooperative organizations. The way has been opened for the government to establish the fund with the publication of the 'Working Procedures for the Establishment and Operation of the Revolving Fund for the Return of Savings of Members of Problematic Cooperative Organizations, 2083' in the Gazette. 

The government has made the working procedure to provide immediate savings to the members of problematic cooperative organizations by implementing the provisions in point 99 of the 100 work lists approved by the Council of Ministers meeting on 13 Chaitra, 2082. The operation and management of the revolving fund will be under the Problematic Cooperative Management Committee.

Point No. 23 of the government's policy and program for the fiscal year 2082/83 and point No. 61 of the budget statement of the same year also mentioned that the government would return the savings of up to five hundred thousand rupees in problematic cooperative organizations to the savers and that amount would be replenished through the savings, loans, fixed assets and assets of the boards of directors of the cooperative organizations. Similarly, the Supreme Court order issued on 11 Magh 2082 also ruled that the state should return the money of small savers (less than five lakhs) in cooperatives. 

Based on the above facts, the government has decided to establish a revolving fund to return the money of small savers of troubled cooperatives. The working procedure has not disclosed the amount of the fund. However, 250 million rupees have been allocated under the current expenditure heading in the budget for the current fiscal year for the return of the money of savers of cooperatives. According to the Finance Ministry source, the government will initially deposit the same 250 million rupees in the revolving fund. How much will be the amount to be returned after that? The source said that the budget for the coming fiscal year will be allocated based on that. 

Along with the amount received from the government in the revolving fund, the amount recovered from the auction sale of the assets of the directors, accounts committee, manager, loan subcommittee and the authorized and responsible persons involved in misappropriation or embezzlement of the assets, savings, loans or shares of the cooperative organization will also be deposited in the fund. The procedure states that the refund amount from the concerned cooperative organization and the amount received from other sources will also be deposited in the fund. ‘The problematic cooperative management committee shall deposit the amount deposited in the fund in a separate account in a commercial bank and shall keep separate records of it,’ the procedure states, ‘If the amount deposited in the fund is not sufficient to return the amount to the savers from the sale of the cooperative’s assets, if any member of the director’s family transfers the property or invests in the company for any other reason through division of shares or divorce, the committee may freeze and auction such property.

Before returning the savings, the committee shall collect the details of the savers. For this, after the committee issues a notice, the saver shall submit the specified details to the committee, such as the citizenship certificate, proof of opening of share certificate or share membership number, national account number, national identity card or details of opening of that number, savings amount, interest rate, amount withdrawn and net amount to be returned, bank account number and name of the bank, details of whether or not any loan is outstanding to the organization. Whether there are savings in more than one organization and if so, the details of the same must be submitted to the committee. 

After collecting the data of the savers in this way, the committee will keep a record of the amount deposited in the fund and distribute it based on the application made in accordance with the provisions of the Cooperative Act. The procedure states that the amount should not be returned in cash but through the saver's bank account. 'When returning the savings, the details received from the cooperative up to the day before the date on which the cooperative was declared problematic will be considered as the basis,' the procedure states, 'Savers who have taken loans from the cooperative will not be returned their savings until the said loan is repaid.' 

The procedure states that the savings of the directors, managers of the concerned organization, saver members of their same household and persons involved in embezzlement or misuse will not be returned until the liabilities of the savers who have made claims are resolved in accordance with the law. If the case of the claim for the return of savings is pending in court, the savings of such savers will not be returned until the final decision of the case is made. There is a procedure for returning savings to the heirs if the saver dies or cannot be found. 

‘While returning savings, the committee may, by decision of the committee, give priority to returning savings to small savers,’ the procedure states, ‘Among savers, single women, senior citizens above 60 years of age, Dalits and indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities will be given priority.’ 

The procedure also provides for the ministry to monitor the management of the amount given to savers of organizations from the revolving fund, the process of returning savings, and complaints. The government is preparing to return the amount to savers who have savings in more than one problematic cooperative organization at the federal level only from one organization. ‘If the savings of the saver are insufficient to return all the amount, the committee may decide and distribute the amount in the fund by shares,’ the procedure states, ‘If the concerned debtors and savers of a cooperative agree to reconcile the accounts and submit an application to the committee, the accounts of loans and savings may be reconciled and settled.’ 

The procedure states that when the committee returns the savings of cooperative victims from the fund, it must record the loan in the name of the concerned organization and keep a record of it. ‘Before returning the amount to the saver, the assets and bank accounts of the directors, managers, accounts committee, loan subcommittee and other responsible persons of the concerned problematic cooperative organization and their single-family saver members and those involved in embezzlement or misuse shall be frozen,’ the procedure states. ‘When returning the amount of the saver, a separate account shall be kept of the amount received from the loan recovery, auction sale and management of the assets related to the organization and such amount shall be returned only to the saver of the concerned organization.’ The procedure also states that the committee shall keep a separate account of the amount received from the government in the fund and audit it in accordance with the prevailing law.