This is the first time the government tries to regulate economic activities related to Hinduism since the fall of the monarchy in 2006. Illegal economic activities tied to public religious celebrations are growing. New rules have been recently adopted to monitor lotteries and betting.
Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, chief district officer for Kathmandu, said that most Hindu religious groups in the capital and its surrounding areas raise huge amounts of money from the faithful. However, the government is unaware of where it goes. “For this reason, the ministry will set guidelines to reduce corruption and the unchecked use of funds,” he said.
Dinbandhu Pokharel, a famous Hindu preacher, said that it was hard to know whether the funds raised during an event are clean or tied to criminal activities. In his view, the government proposal will affect beneficial activities related to religion.
“Organisers often invite me to preach to raise funds for schools or temples, and I cannot turn them down,” he said. “Usually, I don’t ask for money, but festival organisers give me five to ten per cent of the proceeds and I don’t know where it comes from.” Once, “the largest donation I collected was 15 million Nepali rupees” (US$ 206,000).