A source at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had instructed to prepare the draft law for resolving the problems of people affected due to loan sharking and that a draft has been made ready.
"Preparations are underway to give approval to the Ministry concerned to register a bill against usury in the parliament as the government has already prepared the draft law to address the demands of the usury victims," said the source. The government has also formed a committee to understand the problems of the victims of loan sharking who have been protesting in Kathmandu. The protestors returned to Kathmandu six months after signing a five-point agreement with the government in September last year after which they had ended their protest. The committee headed by Rudra Devi Sharma, joint secretary at the Home Ministry has Dil Kumar Tamang, under-secretary at Home Ministry, Umakanta Adhikari, under-secretary at the PMO, and Janga Bahadur Danga, under-secretary at Law Ministry as members. Once loan sharking is regarded as a criminal offense, the government will register cases and conduct legal fights against loan sharks. Currently, loan sharking is essentially categorized as an offense under the civil code, according to which the victims themselves have to engage in a legal fight against loan sharks.
