The government has brought an ordinance to take action against loan sharks. President Ram Chandra Paudel issued the ordinance presented by the government on Wednesday. The President’s Office said that Paudel issued the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to the Civil Code 2080. A cabinet meeting on Tuesday had decided to send the ordinance to the president to resolve the problems of loan shark victims. The government has introduced an ordinance to criminalize loan sharking and make it legally punishable. Bringing the ordinance, the government is amending the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Code, and Civil Procedure Code. The government has already formed a commission to address the loan sharking issue. A cabinet meeting on April 3 had formed the commission under the leadership of the former Chairman of the Special Court, Gauri Bahadur Karki. Former Assistant Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Bahadur Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal are the other members of the commission.

The Karki-led commission has recently requested that loan shark victims submit their applications to the commission. Issuing a notice last Thursday, the commission requested the victims of predatory lending to file their applications within 15 days starting from Sunday.

The commission has said that victims can register their applications online or through district administration offices with the necessary proof. The commission, formed as per a five-point agreement reached with loan shark victims on April 1, has been given three months to prepare a report and recommend solutions to resolve the problems of loan shark victims. The commission has opened its office in Janakpur, the capital of Madhesh Province, as it will be easier for the victims to share their problems. Most of the loan shark victims are from districts of the Terai region. The government and the victims on April 1, had also reached an agreement to expedite the process to amend the laws to criminalize unscrupulous lending. Currently, loan sharking is essentially categorized as an offense under the civil code. In this condition, the victims have to fight the deep-pocketed loan sharks alone. However, the acts of blackmailing, extortion, and other exploitations in the guise of loan sharking fall under criminal offenses. A report prepared by a task force formed by the government last year after a similar agitation launched by loan shark victims pointed out how the case filed by the loan sharks against the borrowers put the borrowers at a disadvantage.