PRACHANDA BRIEFS KHANAL ON MAOIST STANDING COMMITTEE DECISION

Kathmandu, 26 Feb.: The Maoist Chief Prachanda Saturday during a terse 20-minute meet briefed Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal on the outcome of his party’s Friday standing committee meeting that UCPN(Maoist) would not to join the government but lend it outside support.
They agreed in principle to expand the government soon without being embroiled in sharing of ministerial portfolios, Surya Tapa, an aide to the premier said.
Maoists are demanding the home portfolio besides strict implementation of a secret 7-point deal.
The largest communist party decided a UML central committee decision to amend a secret 7-pointdealbetween the chairmen of the two communist parties wasn’t acceptable and an explanation of the premier’s party was ambiguous.
Khanal was elected 3 February with Maoist support but he hasn’t succeeded to expand the four-member government consisting on only UML representatives.
The premier said Saturday serious discussions are being held with parties for the expansion of government which will be concluded soon without going into details.
“We’ll reach a conclusion soon,” Khanal said in Lalitpur sounding a positive note.
UCPN (Maoist) is putting intense pressure on Khanal to implement the accord opposed by a faction in the party close to NC which has also opposed the agreement.
Analysts are already predicting the government may not last long,
Immediate Maoist strategy seems to be to support the Khanal government while attempting to gain maximum advantage.
Constitution drafting and completion of the peace process have been obstructed with the delay in government expansion.
Meanwhile, Chairman charged ‘national and foreign conspirators’ for blocking Maoist entry into government.
“The conspiracy started the moment I started speaking in parliament” on 3 F February, he said in the capital. ”The same conspirators who conspired for seven months are again active.”
He accused ‘imperialists’ for buying rival parties whom he called ‘sheep’ while claiming his party was a ‘lion’.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari said categorically in Butwal Saturday cabinet will be expanded Sunday after ‘positive talks’ between the prime minister and Prachanda.
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62 NEPALIS AIRLIFTED FROM LIBYA

Kathmandu, 26 Feb.: The fist batch of 62 Nepali workers in Libya were lifted home Saturday by a chartered flight.
The Nepali embassy in Egypt and manpower agencies are attempting to fly home more than 500 workers who have crossed over to Egypt from LIbwa where anti-government protests continue amid a government crackdown.
An estimated 4,000 Nepalis are working in Libya.

HEAVY SNOWFALL IN RUKUM, HUMLA

Kathmandu, 26 Feb. Heavy snowfall in 12 VDCs in north Rukum have pinned down villagers to their homes since Friday,
Heavy snowfall in neighbouring Humla have disrupted flights,
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NC CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETS 3 MARCH

Kathmandu, 26 Feb.: NC central committee meets 3 March as part decided not to join the government while opposing the 7-point agreement between the chairmen of Maoists and UML that propelled UML Chairman Jhalanatah Khanal to power with Maoist support.
Top party leaders have called for the abrogation of the agreement which they said is against the constitution and the peace agreement between seven parties and Maoists.
The committee will also discuss appointment of office bearers.
The Deuba faction has opposed appointments of Ram Chandra Paudel and Krishna Prasad Shitaula as vice-president and general secretary respectively
The appointments by President Sushil Koirala have to be approved by the committee which almost equal members of Koirala and Deuba supporters.
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SIX MORE NC CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS APPOINTED

Kathmandu, 25 Feb. Six central committee members were appointed Saturday by President Sushil Koirala to the central committee and he can sill appoint five more members to strengthen his hold on the party.
Dilli Ram Regmi, Keshab Budhathoki, Rajan Prasad Pant, ram Chandra Tiwari, Laxmi Rai and Mina Subba were nominated.
The nominations came ahead of a committee meeting next month.
There are now 80 members in the central committee.
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LAXMAN KARNA IN SUB-COMMITTEE

Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: Laxman Lal Karma of NSP will represent Madeshbadi parties in sub-committee under the main constitution drafting committee to discuss 80 contentious issues to be incorporated in a constitution.
Maoist Chairman Prachanda heads the sub-committee that has to submit a report to the main constitution drafting committee by 14 March.
Ram Chandra Paudel of NC, Madhav Kumar Nepal from UML and Kalpana Rana of CPN (United) are other members.
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INDIAN GOVT. SPONSORING SEMINAR ON NEPAL

Kathmandu, 26 Feb.: Indian government is conducting an ‘extensive seminar’ on Nepal’s internal matters, Naya Patrika reports.
The peace process, constitution drafting, resettlement and integration will be discussed.
A four-day seminar being held at Varanasi 3 March will also discuss ‘special relationship’ between the two countries.
The seminar will discuss whether ‘Increasing anti-India sentiments in Nepal is reality or fiction”.
The Indian foreign ministry is conducting the seminar to be attended by major parties, intellectuals and journalists who were invited Friday.
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FIFTH CENTURY HUMAN REMAINS RECOVERED IN MUSTANG

Kathmandu, 26 Feb.: Twenty-seven fifth century human remains have been recovered from caves in Upper Mustang during search and research, Gorkhapatra reports.
The search stared at camps at 13,500 ft. 2008.
Foreign experts confirmed the remains predated to the fifth century.
Archaeological Department, NGOs and foreign archaeologists are involved in excavation.
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EAST DOOR OF PASHUPATI NATH TEMPLE TO CLOSE DURING SHIVARATRI






Kathmandu, 25 Feb.: Owing to delay in repairing the damaged steps and cracked walls, the east side door of the Pashupatinath Temple will remain shut for this year’s Mahashivaratri, The Rising Nepal reports.
The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has accepted that delay has been caused which has made it unable to complete the repair works of the eastern door till the Mahashivatrati day, as promised by it earlier.
The Hindu festival of Mahashivaratri is approaching near but the task of repair at the Pashupati area has been delayed. This year the Mahashivrartri festival falls on the 2nd of March.
Some time ago, PADT claimed that damaged steps at the eastern part of the holiest temple of Hindu will be completed till Mahashivatarti.
Organising a press meet on Thursday, PADT informed that the eastern door will not open on the day of Mahashivaratri as the repair works will take another four to five months.
Sushil Nahata, member secretary of PADT, said that repair works were going on. PADT alone could not maintain the temple properly, he said.
"We have been forced to change the entry and exit routes for the devotees during the Mahashivratri," said Nahata.
Some months ago, the then Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, directed PADT to repair the damaged parts immediately but PADT did not start the repair saying they needed to carry out field survey to start the maintenance works.
The Pashupatinath temple is one of the most famous of Hindu site. There is a need of urgent repair, but PADT has delayed the start of repair works citing various reasons. The rodents inside the temple and leakage of water have weakened the foundation of the temple and some cracks at other houses and walls near the temple have also appeared.
The soil erosion underneath the temple caused by rats has weakened the foundation of the temple. However, no significant repair has been carried out for the last 50 years.
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KMC TO ACT AGAINST DEFAULTERS

KATHMANDU, 26 Feb.: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has warned of halting transaction of those who refuse to pay house and business taxes, RSS reports.

KMC issued this warning after its revenue collection fell sharply as a result of tendency of being apathetic to pay tax among many metropolitan dwellers.

KMC Tax Officer Ram Prasad Poudel said the habit of showing negligence to pay tax is increasing because KMC hasn´t become tougher. "Thus, we have to take this step to bring them under tax net," he said.

Even though the Clause 165 of Local Self-Governance Act 2055 grants the right to municipalities to halt house, land and business transactions, KMC hasn´t swung into action in accordance with the law as of now.

Door-to-door campaign launched by KMC from Feb. 13 is its effort to bring all under tax net. Under the drive, KMC´s tax officer writes tax defaulters, urging them to pay tax within 15 days. If its first letter is ignored, KMC´s Tax Division Chief writes second letter urging them to pay tax within 10 days.

In case the second letter goes unheard and people don´t pay tax within the deadline, KMC´s Chief Executive Officer sends letter to them with the deadline of three days. "If the last warning is brushed off, we will halt land and house as well as business transactions," said Poudel.

KMC has targeted to collect Rs. 40 million through land, house and business taxes.

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WADHWA TO COUGH UP GOVT. DUES

Kathmandu, 26 Feb.: Beleaguered owner of Nepal Recreation Centre (NRC) Rakesh Wadhwa has expressed willingness to clear all the government dues provided that it creates a “conducive environment” for him to come to Nepal, Sangam Prasain writes in The Kathmandu Post..
Wadhwa, who has been absconding for the last four months following an arrest warrant for non-payment of royalties by his casinos, said this to leaders of the trade unions at Casino Nepal who had gone to New Delhi to persuade him to clear the outstanding payments.
“If the government creates a conducive environment for me to return to Nepal, I will pay the money owed,” one trade union leader quoted Wadhwa as saying. With trade unions affiliated to the UCPN (Maoist) controlling some of Wadhwa’s casinos, he also sought non-interference from them in management.
The presidents of the four trade unions at Casino Nepal had travelled to New Delhi to talk with Wadhwa in the second week of February. “We held five rounds of meetings with Wadhwa in New Delhi,” said another union leader. With closure of the casinos looking imminent, union leaders had taken the initiative to persuade Wadhwa to honour the government directives.
It is still not clear whether Wadhwa’s “willingness” to clear the dues is genuine or a time-buying ploy. Earlier, he had disowned responsibility to clear the royalty dues and had instead said that the hotels should pay them as they had been issued the casino licenses.
Currently, the future of eight casinos including four of Wadhwa’s hangs in the balance. The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has already recommended action against them to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) for defaulting on their royalty payments. However, MoTCA has been without a minister due to delays in the expansion of Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal’s cabinet, preventing it from making any move. After Wadhwa spoke of his “willingness” to pay his dues, union leaders of the casinos started lobbying with the government and lawmakers to offer him an olive branch. They have met with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, tourism secretary Kishore Thapa and revenue secretary Krishna Hari Banskota.
“With the casinos providing employment to more than 8,000 people, their closure would hit all of us,” said a trade union leader. However, it is not clear whether the government would withdraw action against Wadhwa if he pays up.
Wadhwa’s NRC runs four casinos. Among them, Casino Everest and Casino Tara have been given a clean chit by the DRI. However, the other two, Casino Nepal and Casino Anna, have not paid any royalties or dues for the last few years and owe the government Rs 244 million. Recently, Wadhwa sold 50 percent of his stake in Casino Anna to two Indian buyers.
After the DRI’s recommendation for action, MoTCA had asked the eight casinos to furnish clarification within Feb. 27. The DRI said Casino Venus and Casino Rad paid around Rs 5 million of their outstanding dues by the deadline.
With the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee(PAC) taking a tough stance against the casinos for defaulting on their dues to the government and allowing Nepalis to enter their premises, MoTCA is currently giving the final shape to the casino guidelines. However, there are differences among the stakeholders over whether Nepalis should be allowed to enter the casinos or not. The draft of the guidelines has a provision to allow entrance to Nepalis falling under the big taxpayer category.
“The guidelines are almost ready, but different opinions over allowing Nepalis to play in casinos have stalled progress,” said a senior MoTCA official. “Except for the entry of Nepalis, other parts of the guidelines have been completed.”
The ministry will submit the draft of the guidelines to the Home Ministry and the Finance Ministry on Sunday for their suggestions and recommendation.
As per the proposal, the DRI will make available a list of big taxpayers eligible to play in casinos. The gambling houses are required to issue membership to them who will have to pay an entry fee of Rs 5,000 for a 24-hour pass.
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