The commission formed to investigate cases of loan sharks has concluded the Madhes province and West Nawalparasi to be the epicenter.
The commission chaired by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday.
The commission’s report has showed that there was a deep chasm between the lenders and oppressed in Madhes from the beginning, and the problems have aggravated due to loan sharks in recent times.
It has found that a total of 21,552 complaints against loan sharks have been filed in eight districts of Madhes, and 1,862 in West Nawalparasi.
“The oppressed ones need loans even to make ends meet...There was already this practice of preparing a loan document of Rs 300,000 while lending Rs 100,000 in Madhes. That seems to have increased now and we found that documents of up to Rs 500,000 have been made for that,” Chairman Karki told Setopati. “We found that they had borrowed from loan sharks for everything from social functions to go for foreign employment.”
He has added that the commoners have to depend on loan sharks to give dowry while marrying daughters and other works including for treatment and going abroad for employment as banks and financial institutions are not poor-friendly.
The report has stated that there have been documented lending of Rs 5.57 billion by the loan sharks. It said that the loan sharks had claimed to have lent Rs 7.62 billion, and the two sides reached settlement for transactions worth Rs 1.72 billion out of that.
Karki has revealed that a total of 218 bighas, 10 katthas and 7 dhurs of land have been returned to the victims from the loan sharks.
The commission has also submitted recommendations to the government to resolve the problem including reform of the financial system to ensure the poor people get loans, effective health insurance system for treatment, and sensitization of those going abroad for foreign employment.
