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Meterbyaj problem: Govt issues ordinance to address demands for legal reform

File: Loan shark victims duped by the local meterbyaj system stage a protest in Kathmandu meterbyaj problem
File: Loan shark victims duped by the local meterbyaj system stage a protest in Kathmandu. Photo: Aryan Dhimal

Kathmandu, May 3

The government on Tuesday issued an ordinance to address the demands for legal reform to solve the meterbyaj problem.

The President’s Office says President Ram Chandra Paudel issued the ordinance to amend some Nepal acts as recommended by the government. The cabinet meeting on Tuesday made the recommendation.

As per the government spokesperson Rekha Sharma, the ordinance recognises the meterbyaj problem as a crime.

Loan shark victims, mainly from districts of the southern plains, say local loan sharks have been duping them of millions of rupees in compound interests calculated in an unfair system, locally known as the meterbyaj.

After rounds of protests by loan shark victims, the government committed to making the legal reforms, thereby ending the protest with a five-point agreement with the group on April 1. The government has also established an investigation commission to investigate their complaints.

Yet another group has come to the capital and been staging rounds of protests, saying the agreement was not sufficient.

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