KATHMANDU, June 7: The Judicial Committee of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) receives the highest number of complaints related to building eviction, with a significant portion linked to cooperatives in the financial crisis.
KMC Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol reported that around 50 percent of all disputes concern eviction demands, and half of those are tied to cooperatives. Common complaints include attempts to evict tenants for failing to pay rent on time, recovering dues prior to eviction, seeking compensation for property damage caused by cooperatives, and demanding the removal of cooperative offices after refunding both savings and rent. Other frequent issues include reopening cooperative offices locked by landlords and canceling dual agreements to recover outstanding rent.
Dangol called for the immediate establishment of an empowered mechanism to address long-standing cooperative-related problems within KMC's jurisdiction. She emphasized the need to launch preventive programs without delay to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Way to solve India-Nepal border dispute
She also stressed the importance of creating institutional mechanisms to effectively implement delegated authority. Dangol recommended initiating remedial programs to anticipate and mitigate financial risks and urged the city to roll out public awareness campaigns on proper financial behavior in relation to cooperatives.
According to her, key factors behind the cooperative crisis include preferential lending to close associates, using loans for consumption rather than productive investment, joining cooperatives solely to access credit, issuing loans without adequate collateral, and focusing solely on profit over sustainability.
Basanta Acharya, head of KMC's Law and Human Rights Department, attributed the rise in eviction complaints to the lack of formal rental agreements, vague contract terms, rent underreporting to reduce tax liability, and the existence of dual agreements.
He said disputes often arise when tenants delay rent payments, when agreements fail to clearly assign tax responsibilities, or when cooperatives named in the agreements default on rent taxes. Landlords frequently remain unaware of a cooperative's financial trouble or closure and face difficulties contacting officials or staff once the offices shut down, he added.
