By Our Reporter
After a hectic exercise lasting for over a week and continued obstruction of the House from May 10, the ruling and opposition parties have succeeded in forming a special parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate the misappropriation of cooperative funds.
The seven-member committee was announced Tuesday evening after the parties agreed on the Terms of Reference of the committee Monday night. However, the name of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is not included in the ToR. The NC had been obstructing the House demanding the committee to investigate Lamichhane’s involvement in the cooperative frauds. However, the ToR has allowed the committee to investigate the funds received by Gorkha Media which was previously owned by Lamichhane. Also, the committee is led by Surya Thapa, the UML lawmaker close to UML chair KP Oli, who had been against the formation of the parliamentary committee.
The committee includes Badri Pandey and Ishwari Devi Neupane from the Nepali Congress, Sarita Bhusal from CPN-UML, Lekhnath Dahal from the CPN (Maoist Centre), Shishir Khanal from Rastriya Swatantra Party and Dhruva Bahadur Pradhan from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party.
Earlier on Tuesday, the leaders had finalised the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Parliamentary Probe Committee.
The ruling parties and the main opposition Nepali Congress, after holding marathon meetings, finalised a four-point ToR on Tuesday. The agreement was possible after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachnada’ convened the meeting of the top leaders of the ruling parties Monday evening, which lasted for hours at the PM’s Baluwatar residence.
The first point states that the Committee will study the laws alongside inspection, supervision and transparency of the financial system related to cooperatives, and provide suggestions to solve the contemporary problems of cooperatives.
The Committee will also find ways to secure the money of ordinary citizens saved in the cooperatives.
The ToR’s third point directs the Committee to study the developments related to reimbursing the embezzled amount in the problematic cooperatives listed in Appendix 1 by the Department of Cooperatives and Problematic Cooperative Management Committee.
There are 20 cooperatives listed in Appendix 1; some of them are Oriental Cooperative, Standard Saving and Credit Cooperative, Pacific Saving and Investment Cooperative, Prabhu Saving and Credit Cooperative and Kohinoor Hill Saving and Credit Cooperative.
In the last point, the ToR states that the Probe Committee will investigate the involvement of individuals behind the embezzlement in different cooperatives, especially the ones listed in Appendix-2, and recommend appropriate legal action. The point also stresses the investigation into the financial transactions from cooperatives into Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd.
There are nine cooperatives in Appendix-2; these cooperatives are the ones over which questions were raised repeatedly at the Parliament and public levels.
The nine cooperatives include Ideal Yamuna Multipurpose Cooperative, Image Saving and Credit Cooperative, Sahara Saving and Cooperative, Samanata Saving and Credit Cooperative, Sano Paila Saving and Credit Cooperative, Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperative, Suryadarshan Saving and Credit Cooperative, Sumeru Saving and Credit Cooperative and Swarnalaxmi Saving and Credit Cooperative.
However, as the committee is led by a close aide of Oli, it may not investigate the cooperative in which UML and the RSP leaders are involved, and if they investigate, they may not make the reports public.
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