YOUTH FORCE CHAIRMAN MAHESH BASNET ARRESTED

YOUTH FORCE CHAIRMAN MAHESH BASNET ARRESTED IN BIRATNAGAR UPDATE

Kathmandu, 16 June; Youth Force Central Chairman Mahesh Basnet was arrested in Biratnagar by police.
He was picked up while preparing to address a news conference.
The youth wing of the UML leading the government closed down neighbouring Itahari in protest.
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BELATEDLY TENZING NORGAY SHERPA BEING HONOURED BY NEPAL

Kathmandu, 16 June: Belatedly, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa is being honoured by Nepal government for his first historic ascent of the 8848 meters high Mount Everest, world’s highest peak, with Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953.
Postal Services Department of Nepal government is issuing a postage stamp to honour the two climbers from Nepal and New Zealand after their deaths.
Postal Services Department is issuing a postage stamp for the first time with Tenzing’s portrait although it bestowed such honours on other Nepali climbers who climbed Everest
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NC ASKED TO CLARIFY ITS POSITION ON KRISHNA PRASAD SHITAULA’S ALLEGED INVOLVEMENT IN SUDAN SCAM

Kathmandu, 16 June: Nepali Congress district committee presidents of the Eastern and Mid-Western regions have asked the party leadership to make its position clear on the alleged involvement of party General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula in the Sudan scam, The Kathmandu Post reports
- . The district presidents separately met party President Sushil Koirala and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wednesday and said the news of Sitaula’s possible involvement in the scam tarnishes the party’s image. A district committee president confirmed the meeting with the party leadership. According to another district committee president, despite rumours that Sitaula accepted Rs 150 million as kickback, no reaction has come on the issue from either the party or the general secretary himself.

“The allegation that have been reported in the media should be cleared by the party and the party central committee should come up with a clear position on this,” said Keshav Thapa, party president of Ilam. Saying that no specific name of a party leader has surfaced in connection with the high-profile scam, he demanded the party senior leadership bring to book those found guilty. The presidents had also raised the issue in a recent gathering in Dhulikhel. In fact, Nawalparasi district committee president and former State Minister for Home Affairs Devendra Kandel

accused that the entire Home Ministry leadership and the police officials were involved in the scandal.
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MAHARA SEEKS AMNESTY FOR CONVICTED MAOIST

Kathmandu, 16June: Despite objections from the national and international human rights community, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara has registered a proposal in the cabinet to recommend to the President to grant an amnesty to Maoist lawmaker Bal Krishna Dhungel, who has been convicted for murder, Kiran Chapagain reports in Republica..

Three informed cabinet sources, including a CPN-UML minister, told Republica that the cabinet did not take any decision on Wednesday as the prime minister did not include the proposal on the agenda for Wednesday´s cabinet meeting.
"The prime minister is against the proposal," said the CPN-UML minister on condition of anonymity, "But that does not mean it has been rejected."

"It is not easy for the prime minister to turn down the proposal outright as the issue is sensitive and can affect the coalition," the minister said of the complications the proposal means for the prime minister.

Lawmaker Dhungel was convicted by the Supreme Court last January for the murder of one Ujjan Kumar Shrestha in Okhaldhunga in 2004. Though Okhaldhunga District Court has ordered police to arrest Dhungel, he is yet to be nabbed.

As per Article 151 of the Interim Constitution, the President can grant amnesty to a convict if the government so recommends.

But the national and international human rights communities have argued that this particular case involves grave human rights violation and does not deserve amnesty.

In the proposal, Mahara has argued that Shrestha´s murder happened during the conflict period and the case should be taken as an incident of the conflict period to be dealt with under transitional justice mechanisms to be formed when transitional justice laws are enacted. The laws are under discussion at parliament´s bills committee.

The cabinet received the proposal a day before scheduled hearings on a writ petition filed by Shrestha´s sister Sabitri Shrestha. Shrestha moved the courts on Tuesday seeking a court order to the government to imprison Dhungel.

She has argued in the petition that amnesty cannot be granted as Dhungel was involved in grave human rights violation. The Supreme Court is due to hold an initial hearing on the petition Thursday.

Speaking at a program organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal on Wednesday, Sabitri Shrestha said the Maoists had not even allowed the cremation of her brother´s mortal remains as per customary rites.

They were compelled to bury the body, instead of a cremation according to Hindu rites.

"We were not allowed to collect my brother´s body for a few days," she said, showing a picture of the deteriorated body at the program attended by political leaders, human rights activists and members of the international community. "I am saddened by news that the government is going to recommend amnesty to him [Dhungel]."
However, Law Minister Prabhu Shah said he was unaware of the proposal.
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MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION FINALISED TO LAUNCH POWER PROJECTS
Kathmandu, 16 June: Hydropower Investment and Development Company Limited has finalised the memorandum of association, according to which, investments will be made on hydro projects from five to 50 megawatts (MW), The Himalayan Times reports.

“The company will keep small and middle scale hydro projects up to 50 MW,” said the document obtained by this daily. The document also said it would try to get funds from Non Resident Nepalis or international institutions at lower interest rate and invest in projects or provide loan to other developers. However, it said the company will invest on hydel projects above 50 MW under joint investment with other developers.

The MoA mentions authorised capital of Rs 50 billion and issuable share capital at the time of establishment as Rs 30 billion. Shares have been categorised into three groups: Finance, Law and Energy ministries are in group one; Nepal Telecom, Employees Provident Fund, Rastriya Beema Sansthan and Citizens Investment Fund are in group two; and public investment is in group three.

According to MoA, ownership of the company will be with the government. As the company is being established for the special purpose of investing in hydropower, it will take the consent of Nepal Rastra Bank to operate the fund received from international communities,” the document said.

The Article of Association (AoA) of the company has also been finalised. The third draft AoA obtained by this daily says the draft will be made public on June 20 at the latest. However the second draft had said works would be completed by today.

Asked about the delay, Energy Minister Gokarna Bista said, “We need some more time for discussion.” However he denied he had accepted the date mentioned in the second draft.

The cabinet had formed a committee to prepare these documents two weeks earlier under the coordination of former water resources secretary Surya Nath Upadhyay.
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WITH HUMAN ENCROACHMENT RIVERS IN VALLEY SHRINK





Kathmandu, 16 June: The Bagmati and other rivers of the valley have shrunk in size owing to increase in pollution and human encroachment of the river banks, The Rising Nepal reports.
Bagmati Savyata Yakikrit Biksah Samiti (committee) recently revealed that the number of people encroaching the land has reached to 20,000, who have lived at the river embankment illegally. The committee stated that when they monitored the areas they found there were only five per cent people who are the landless ones while others were found to have their own land at other places.
Some influential persons have registered the land in their names while some fake landless people have grabbed the land stating that they were the landless.
Talking with "The Rising Nepal", Mahesh Basnet, President of committee informed that lands of the banks of rivers like Manohara Jadibuti, Sankhamul, Sinamangal, Minbhaban, Thapathali Prasuti Griha areas, Dhobi Khola, Amanarnagar, Tukuchha, Teku Bridge and Balkhu area has been captured by landless people. There are only 12,000 lands less people at the end of 2064 B.S.
There is no strong mechanism to punish and remove fake land less people from the encroached areas which led to an increase in
the capture of river banks by the people who are rich and owing the land at other places, he said. The committee has no power to remove the encroachers from the areas so could not do any thing.
The bill "Bagmati Savyata Bikash Law 2066" was tabled at the parliament and yet to get approval from the parliament. The committee therefore could not do anything to stop such illegal activities, he added.
Moreover, the Supreme Court was responding a writ filed by the Janhit Samarachhan Munch Pro-Public against the pollution of Bagmati River and illegal encroachment last month and directed concerned authority to stop illegal activities at the rivers of the Kathmandu Valley. The second response of court was directed to Kathmandu Metropolitan City Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan, Bhaktapur and Madhyapur Thimi Municipalities to submit the actual encroachment report.
They have been asked to submit a river map at Physical and Planning Office coordinating with the committee within three months, according to Basnet.
He informed that the committee started to prepare the river map.
The issue of land less is so complicated and the number of the land less people has been increasing each day. The municipalities alone could not solve this problem. The problems should be resolved at the state level, according to the municipality sources.

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