BIG THREE MEET TO LAUNCH STATE RESTRUCTURING COMMISSION

MEET OF BIG THREE, MADESHBADI FRONT BEING HELD MONDAY TO DISCUSS STATE RESTRUCTURING COMMISSION

Kathmandu, 21 Nov.: The Big Three meet Monday with representative of six ruling Madeshbadi parties to launch a state restructuring commission to suggest a federal structure.
The commission could have seven members—two each from ruling UCPN (Maoist), opposition parties NC and UML and a representative Monday.
Commission members are expected to be appointed Monday with its launch.
The commission is being formed instead of an experts panel; work has to be completed in the next two months
President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav held consultations Sunday evening with Speaker Subash Nemwang who told the head of state the final decision for a federal state will be taken by constituent assembly CA/parliament.
President suggested appointment of experts in the commission, Nemwang said after the meeting.
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UML STANDING COMMITTEE MEET CONTINES 2ND DAY MONDAY; 11-POINT AGENDA

Kathmandu, 21 Nov.: UML standing committee meets for the second day Monday after it set a 11-point agenda for the 12th central committee meet beginning 23 November.
The central committee meets Wednesday.
The standing committee meet started Sunday and meets again at 11 in the morning Monday.
Sundays meet discussed present political situation, extension of constituent assembly (CA) tenure, state restructure commission, report of the organization committee, forthcoming meeting of national representative council and other topics.
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COMPILATION OF PREFERENCES OF FORMER PLS FIGHTERS CONTINUES MONDAY

Kathmandu, 21.Nov: Sixty percent of 19,000 plus former Maoist PLA fighters have opted for voluntary retirement and 40 percent for integration in the last two days, Balananda Sharma, coordinator of the secretariat for integration, resettlement and supervision said.
Registration of preferences of the former fighters are being compiled by 210 surveyors at seven cantonments where combatants from 21 satellite camps have also been summoned to record their choices.
Only 6,500 fighters will be integrated in Nepal Army under a separate directorate, resettled in society or voluntary retired.
Surveyors will continue compiling preferences for the third day Monday.
Maoist central committee will meet only after the completion of the process.


Kiran Chapagain writes in Republica: With categorization of around 2,000 combatants by Sunday, a few trends relating to the management of ex-Maoist fighters have emerged: majority of ex-Maoist combatants are likely to opt for voluntary retirement, around forty percent for integration and an insignificant number will go for rehabilitation packages.

“Altogether 1,941 combatants, including 1,577 males and 364 females, have been categorized by Sunday. A majority of the categorized combatants -- close to 60 percent -- have opted for voluntary retirement while around 40 percent have chosen integration,” said Balananda Sharma, coordinator of the secretariat under the Special Committee when asked about the general trend in the ongoing categorization process.
Preliminary data also shows that only a very nominal number of combatants are likely to opt for rehabilitation packages that include vocational training and education. Of the 497 combatants verified over the last two days in the Shaktikhor cantonment, only around 20 combatants have opted for rehabilitation package. Even these combatants have sought time for further consultations and are likely to review their decisions, said Sharma from Chitwan where he is leading a categorization team.

People involved in the verification say a very small number of combatants are opting for rehabilitation packages mainly because of the past experience of rehabilitation of disqualified combatants and lack of trust over implementation of the promised rehabilitation schemes.

“Everyone says they were not happy with the rehabilitation of the disqualified combatants by the UN,” said Sharma.

The UN had rehabilitated over 4,000 disqualified combatants, including child soldiers, in 2010. These combatants disqualified by the United Nations Mission in Nepal during the 2007 verification of the Maoist army have frequently expressed their dissatisfaction over their rehabilitation.

Further elaborating the reasons behind the utter lack of interest among the combatants for rehabilitation option, Sharma said, “We found the combatants casting doubts over effective implementation of the rehabilitation package by the government.”

The combatants are also disinterested in opting for the rehabilitation package as they would have to spend a minimum of one year in learning vocational skills before being eligible to claim rehabilitation package.

The categorization of the last two days also shows another trend rife among female combatants. It shows that unmarried and young women have tended to choose integration while mother combatants have preferred voluntary retirement, according to Sharma.

Meanwhile, a team of Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Satya Pahadi, Maoist leaders Janardan Sharma, PLA Chief Nanda Kishor Pun and Secretary at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction Dhurba Prasad Sharma visited different cantonments on Sunday to oversee the progress of categorization.

“We are visiting the cantonments to clarify confusions on integration and rehabilitation with PLA members,” said Sharma, a former Peace and Reconstruction Minister.

With the current pace of categorization, the seven teams of 210 surveyors is expected to complete categorization of over 19,000 Maoist combatants by November 28, five days later than the deadline agreed by the parties on November 1.

“The categorization will be completed by November 28 if everything goes smoothly,” said Sharma.

Initially, the Special Committee had planned to categorize around 300 combatants in each cantonment every day.

“This pace will gain momentum in the days ahead. We categorized more combatants today than we did on the first day,” said member of the secretariat under the Special Committee Dr Dipak Prakash Bhatta, who is leading a categorization team in Surkhet.
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PRAMOD PANDEY’S NAME RECOMMENDED FOR APPOINTMENT AS LOCAL CONSULTANT FOR DIVESTMENT OF ADBL SHARES

Kathmandu, 21 Nov.: Pramod Pandey’s name has been recommended as local consultant to divest 30 shares of Agriculture Development Bank Ltd. (ADBL), now partially owned by government which launched it, Republica reports.
Pandey is a chartered account and his name has been recommended to the finance ministry for appointment.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“The major three parties backtracked from their past commitments even as the country has already moved toward federalism. The latest decision taken by the three major parties has sabotaged the achievements so far with regard to federating the country.”

(Minister for Communication and Chairman of MJFN (Republican) Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta, Republican, 21 Nov.)
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LIQUID FERTILIZERS TO EASE SHORTAGE
Kathmandu, 21 Nov 21: Amid acute shortage of fertilizers in the market, the government for the first time is preparing to supply liquid chemical fertilizers to farmers who are up in arms for last two weeks demanding smooth supplies of fertilizers in the peak wheat farming season, Prabhakar Ghimere writes in Republica. .

Agriculture Inputs Company (AIC) - the state-owned fertilizer distributor - is making final preparations to procure liquid fertilizers for distribution to farmers. “Keeping in view the huge deficit between availability of chemical fertilizers and demand in this peak season, we are soon initiating the trading of liquid chemical fertilizers to ease the supply situation,” Narayan Marasini, supply manager of AIC, told the Republica on Sunday.


Marasini said AIC is procuring 42,000 liters of liquid chemical fertilizers from Spain through a private sector importer All Nepal Tea and Coffee Center. Chemical fertilizers being procured by AIC are Lombrico N (Nitrogen), Lombrico P (Phosphorous), Lombrico K (Potash) and Lombrico-Faliar 986.

“The liquid chemical fertilizer is high in nutrients and requires low transportation cost. It´s easier to distribute among the farmers,” said Marashini. AIC is planning to distribute the liquid fertilizers through its outlets and cooperative offices in different parts of the country.

Price of the liquid fertilizers has not been fixed yet. However, the fertilizers will be procured at Rs 410 per liter and will be made available to farmers at around Rs 510 per liter. “We will fix the price which will be lower than the market price fixed by private suppliers,” said Marasini.

Meanwhile, AIC officials said given the vast difference between supply volume and demand for chemical fertilizers, there is no immediate solution to the perennial shortage of fertilizers in the market.

The current budget has allocated Rs 2.75 billion for chemical fertilizer subsidy which is sufficient to purchase only 115,000 tons of fertilizers, which is far below the annual demand of around 750,000 tons as estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC).

Though farmers have been protesting for last two weeks and demanding a timely supply of chemical fertilizers in the peak agriculture season, AIC has failed to manage the supplies as there has been a sharp rise in the demand for fertilizers this season compared to the same period last year.

AIC distributed 53,000 tons of fertilizers in last four months till mid-November this year, up from 25,800 tons during the same period last year. According to Marasini, AIC has 11,000 tons of urea, 3,000 tons of Di-Ammounium Phosphate (DAP) and 500 tons of potash.

According to A.R. Khair, manager of procurement department of AIC, 10,000 tons of urea is being procured from Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation provided by the Indian government at International Parity Price. Similarly, 30,000 tons of urea and 10,000 tons of DAP will be procured from Indian Potash Ltd and Paradeep Phosphet Ltd respectively.

“We expect the fertilizers to arrive by mid-December,” said Khair. The Ministry of Finance has already issued Rs 550 million on Friday to AIC to pay for the import of fertilizers. Similarly, tenders biding documents have been evaluated for the procurement of 30,000 tons of urea and 20,000 tons of DAP.

Lengthy overseas procurement process, problems in clearing the fertilizers from big ships at the Kolkata port, and a strict ban imposed by the India government against export of locally produced chemical fertilizers have led to a shortage of chemical fertilizers in the country.

“Global suppliers are not interested in supplying chemical fertilizers to Nepal due to difficult transportation involving Kolkata port, the sole port being used by Nepal to import goods from overseas markets,” said Khair.
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