Kathmandu, July 3 -- The government has officially formed the Cooperative Loan Recovery Tribunal (CLRT) to bolster efforts to recover cooperative funds, as billions in public deposits have been misappropriated through troubled cooperatives across the country.

A Cabinet meeting on June 27 appointed Kirti Bahadur Basnet as the tribunal's chair, and Basanta Parajuli of Dhankuta and Govinda Sharma Gaire of Tanahun as members.

According to Ganesh Prasad Bhatta, spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, the new chair and members have yet to take the oath of office.

Earlier, while presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel had announced...