Over 5,000 loan shark victims’ problems resolved

The Commission formed by the government to inquire and resolve usury-related cases has resolved 5,155 cases out of over 28,000 complaints so far.

Uttamraj Subedi, a member of the Commission and also for Additional Inspector General of Police, shared that since the formation of the Commission, a total of 218 bigha 10 kattha 7 dhur (793) has been returned to the loan shark victims from their usurious lenders through the reconciliation.

The study conducted by the Commission showed that there was a written transaction of over Rs 5.857 billion between the victims and the loan sharks but the loan sharks were found to have claimed that over Rs 1.62 billion remained to be recovered from the victims.

Among them, a transaction amounting to over Rs 1.72 billion was settled in the consensus of both parties, the Commission said.

The Commission had collected applications from the victims from April 30 to May 28. Altogether 21,552 complaints were lodged from eight districts in Madhesh Province while 1,862 complaints were filed from Nawalparashi Paschim.

Commission Chairperson Gauri Bahadur Karki shared that the Commission submitted its report to the Prime Minister on last Tuesday. According to Chairperson Karki, there was no problem of usury in 39 districts including 29 districts where a couple of such cases were registered and resolved.

The incumbent government had formed a 3-member high-powered Commission to address the issues of those subjugated to loan-sharking. The Parliament also has passed the law regarding this and the law has been enforced as well.