न्यूज अभियान
हरेक खबर विशेष खबर

Kathmandu, Aug 22: The government, and the Nation, Nationality, Religion, Culture and Citizen Protection Mega Campaign on Saturday signed a 14-point agreement.
With the agreement, the Mega Campaign has announced to end all programmes of sit-ins and protests, beginning today. 
The signing of the agreement followed comprehensive discussions between the representatives of the Campaign, who were on a sit-in in Pulchowk, Lalitpur, and the talks team formed by the government. 
Liladhar Subedi,  coordinator of the government talks team and joint- secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and Bishnu Bohora Chhetri, the negotiation committee coordinator representing the Campaign, have signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides. 
The agreement has provisioned that banks and financial institutions will not be allowed to block the operation of social security allowance, medical expenses, pension, and salary account held in the names of borrowers who are on the blacklist. 
It also provides that Nepal Rastra Bank will review the existing provisions concerning the blacklisting of microfinance borrowers and mortgage auctions. 
The agreement also provides that, in the case of borrowers who are unable to regularly pay off the principal and interests on their loans due to various circumstances, additional provisions will be introduced  for debt rescheduling. Microfinances will be strictly prohibited from seeking or accepting a cheque in advance as collateral while disbursing loans, and requiring prospective borrowers to sign blank papers for executing a deed of transaction.  
As per the agreement, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) shall establish an  online system and toll- free hotline  facility to address issues and grievances related to banks and financial institutions. It shall also conduct regular monitoring to assess the effectiveness of these mechanisms. Borrowers will be provided with information and details when their loans are adjusted against deposits in their saving accounts and will be allowed to withdraw funds from other bank accounts, except the compulsory savings accounts, upon request. 
Similarly, as per the agreement, the Ministry of Finance will form a high-level committee with the participation of independent experts on addressing the issues concerning microfinances.  
The Ministry of Home Affairs will issue a circular to the District Administration Offices to enable borrowers register complaints against microfinance employees who subject them to torture, abuse of other forms of misconduct while seeking loan repayment. Such acts will be dealt with in accordance with the prevailing law.
The agreement also states that necessary amendments will be made to the relevant laws to review the deposit and fees required from debtors while filing appeals with the Debt Recovery Tribunal. Improvements will also be made to existing policy arrangements to address problems encountered in the valuation of collateral during loan disbursement and debt recovery. 
As per the agreement, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration will identify genuine landless squatters who have been  displaced and excluded from listing process and facilitate permanent resettlement in coordination with the local levels.