14-point agreement between government and Nagarik Bachau Mahaabhiyan
KATHMANDU:- A 14-point agreement has been reached between the Government of Nepal and the Nagarik Bachau Mahaabhiyan (Save Citizens Campaign), Nepal.’
Following the agreement, it has been decided to call off all sit-ins and protest programs previously organized by the campaign, effective immediately.
It has been reported that the agreement was signed following in-depth discussions between the representatives of the ‘Maha Abhiyan’—who had entered the Kathmandu Valley and were staging a sit-in at Pulchowk, Lalitpur—and the government-constituted negotiation team.
Liladhar Subedi, Coordinator of the government’s negotiation team and Joint Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and Vishnu Bohora Chhetri, Coordinator of the ‘Maha-Abhiyan’ (Grand Campaign) negotiation committee, have signed the agreement.
The agreement stipulates that banks and financial institutions shall not restrict the operation of accounts holding social security allowances, medical expense funds, pension payments, or salaries belonging to blacklisted borrowers; it also mandates that Nepal Rastra Bank review existing regulations regarding the blacklisting and collateral auctions of microfinance institutions and implement the findings through the relevant bodies.
Furthermore, provisions regarding loan rescheduling will be implemented for borrowers of banks and financial institutions who have been unable to regularize their loan principal and interest payments due to situational factors; additionally, practices such as microfinance institutions collecting advance cheques as collateral or requiring promissory notes signed on blank paper during loan disbursement will be strictly monitored and completely prohibited.
Furthermore, the agreement stipulates the establishment of an online system and a toll-free hotline at Nepal Rastra Bank for the effective management of issues and grievances related to banks and financial institutions, along with regular monitoring of their effectiveness. It also mandates that the concerned individual be informed with full details when funds from a savings account are used to adjust a borrower’s loan, and that savings funds be made available without fail upon the member’s request, subject to effective monitoring of these provisions.
