Over a month since its formation, the National Cooperatives Regulatory Authority (NCRA) has been unable to make much progress. Despite the government’s decision to replace the National Cooperatives Development Board with NCRA and introduce an ordinance in December, the authority has made little headway and has yet to pick up speed in its operations.

The government brought the ordinance to address the problems in the country’s cooperative sector, arguing that it would take time to pass a law through the regular parliamentary process. However, the speed with which the ordinance promised to resolve the problems of cooperatives through the NCRA is missing.

Arjun Prasad Pokharel, secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, admitted the new authority is falling short of expectations. Following the dissolution of the National Cooperative Development Board on January 27, the government entrusted Pokharel with the responsibility of heading the NCRA until a chair was appointed.

“Apart from some routine work, we have not seen any major progress at the authority,” a member of the NCRA secretariat told the Post, requesting anonymity.

Alongside Pokharel, Guru Prasad Paudel, an executive director at Nepal Rastra Bank, and Madan Koirala, a joint secretary at the cooperatives ministry, were appointed to the NCRA on January 27. Although expert members were to be appointed soon after, the vacancies remain unfulfilled.

The government on December 24 had brought an ordinance to amend some Nepal laws related to cooperatives. The ordinance was authenticated by President Ramchandra Paudel on December 29. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the ordinance along with four others.

The cooperatives ordinance specifies that the NCRA should have three experts, including the coordinator.

“We are currently focussed on setting up the office and completing the necessary formalities,” Pokharel said. “Approving the organisational structure and overseeing the handover from the National Cooperative Development Board to the NCRA is still in progress.”

Pokharel claims that three meetings have been held within a month of the authority’s establishment, including one on Tuesday.

“The NCRA has formed a regulatory task force led by Guru Prasad Poudel,” Pokharel said.

Although Pokharel claims that the authority is working to set up the office and hire staff in line with the ordinance’s mandate, cooperative victims accuse the NCRA of dragging its feet. They allege that the authority has not shown the expected urgency to address their grievances.

“The NCRA has yet to invite us for discussions, even after over a month of its formation,” said Kushluv KC, chair of the National Campaign for Protection of Cooperative Depositors.

Pokharel, however, said that Tuesday’s meeting had decided to invite stakeholders for discussions. He added that the responsibility for addressing cooperative victims’ issues lies with the Problematic Cooperative Management Committee, which is currently handling those concerns.

The federal government has declared 22 cooperatives as problematic, of which three cases have already been settled.

KC said that a month ago, cooperative victims had submitted a 16-point proposal to major political parties, including the Congress, the UML, and the Maoist Centre, but they have received no response.

He also alleged that the ordinance had further victimised them. The ordinance has increased the number of cooperative victims required to file a complaint. Previously, 25 victims could jointly file a complaint against a cooperative; now 25 percent of all cooperative victims must file such a complaint

But Pokharel dismisses the claim, stating that complaints are not assessed solely based on numbers.

“There are five criteria for declaring a cooperative problematic,” Pokharel said, adding, “The ordinance has increased the number of complainants from 25 individuals to 25 percent of the total victims, but we do not base our decisions solely on numbers. The other four criteria outlined in the Cooperatives Act 2017 are as important.”