INDIA, CHINA UP DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY IN NEPAL AMID RIVALRY

INCREASED INDIA, CHINA DILOMATIC ACTIVITY IN NEPAL

By Bhola B. Rana
Kathmandu, 25 Nov.: Increased high-level diplomatic initiatives of India and
China in Nepal demonstrate the rivalry between Asian giants in the strategic Himalayan state on the southern lap of the world’s tallest range—the Himalaya which s no longer a wall dividing north and south Asia.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is finalizing programme details of his Nepal visit in the last week of December at a meeting with Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kazi Shrestha in
Beijing Friday.
Indian Foreign Secretary and senior most Indian diplomat Ranjan Mathai arrives for a day-long visit ahead of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who comes one day later to sign an agreement with government to
avoid double taxation.
Top visits by Indian leaders follows a just concluded official visit of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to the southern neighbour.
India brokered the 12-point New Delhi agreement between Maoists and Seven parliamentary parties five years ago but the transition from a monarchy to a republic has raising Indian concerns for its own
Security along its 1,700km open border.
India has considered Nepal its own backyard with amid suspicious of independent minded Nepalis.
Emerging Asian super giant China is concerned with a growing closer Indo-US ties and is attempting to secure the Nepal-Tibet border with
increased military assistance to block any inroads into Tibet.
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SQUATERS IRKED BY MAOIST PARTY DECISION TO RETURN SEIZED ASSETS
Kathmandu, 25 Nov.: The UCPN (Maoist) decision to return land and property seized during the insurgency to their rightful owners has irked landless families squatting on a private plot of land at Haraiya Phant of Sripur VDC in Kailali, The Kathmandu Post reports from Kailali.
The Maoists had taken over 23.6 hectares of land owned by one Rana Bahadur Shah nearly six years ago and later distributed it among the landless families.
There are 155 families living on the land at present, and they have said they will not leave the property unless the government comes up with an alternative to shelter them.
With help from the Mohan Baidya faction of the Maoist party, they have also formed a struggle committee to stand against the property return process.
“We will not leave this place unless an alternative is guaranteed,” said Harilal Badi, the coordinator of the committee.
He accused the Maoists of bringing them to the site with promises of providing them with land.
“We even voted for them, and now that the party is in power the same Prachanda and Baburam (Bhattarai) are trying to evict us.”
A majority of the families living at Haraiya Phant are from the Dalit and Tharu communities. The Maoists had brought them there from districts like Kailali, Dailekh, Dadeldhura, Jumla, Syangja and Doti.
“We have nowhere to go,” a 63-year-old occupant, Nandi BK, said. “If we go live in the forests, the community forest people will expel us. Such is our plight. We cannot leave this place.”
(Janak Nepal, Ganesh Chaudhary and Mohan Budhair in Kailali and Kamal Panthi in Bardiya contributed to this report)
‘Then or now, it’s all the same’
JANAK NEPAL & GANESH CHAUDHARY ADD IN THE KATHMANDU POST FROM KAILALI
Lautan Tharu of Baliya VDC in Kailali district tilled a plot of land belonging to Harihar Aryal some 10 years ago on the condition that he would provide half the total produce from the land to Aryal.
The seizure of the very land by former rebels some nine years ago means nothing to him. All he feels is that his landlord has changed. “The land seizure does not make a big difference to me. The landowner used to take the share earlier and now the Maoists come to claim it,” he said. Following the seizure, the Maoists distributed the land to the local people and they have been claiming the share of the produce from tillers.
“We have to give 12 quintals of rice to the Maoists for using one bigha of land. It is not very different from the time when the landowner used to take half the produce,” said Khushiram Tharu, who has been tilling two bighas of land captured from Aryal.
The Maoists seem to be more worried than the farmers when it comes to returning the seized land. While landowners say the former rebels distributed the land to win votes during the election, the Maost party claims that the land was distributed to the landless people.
Maoist district in-charge Hari Chaudhary, who is considered close to party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, claimed that the party does not take the share from the farmers now. “The land is not under our control now. It is under the local farmers,” he said.
Landowners, however, say the Maoists have been using one-third of the total captured land while they distributed the remaining to their activists and still take the share from them. The landowners and the local administration say that about 1,300 hectares of land in Kailali is under Maoist control.
Maoist Baliya village secretary Dhruba Sanjyal admitted that the party has been collecting the produce from the farmers to run the party. “We do not take 12 quintals exactly for one bigha of land. The farmers provide up to five quintals for using one bigha. We use funds generated from the produce to provide logistics to party activists, while we distribute a part of the share to other landless people,” he added. Sanjyal further admitted that the party does not have any record of the income and expenditure of the produce that they collect from the farmers.
Taskforce begins work
The committee formed to facilitate the process of returning property seized by the Maoists on Thursday started the task of identifying the rightful owners and the current occupants in Bardiya. The committee formed under Chief District Officer Tilak Sharma inspected the property of Baikuntha Sumsher Rana at Mainapokhar. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had recently said the task of returning the seized property would begin in the district on Friday. However, no preparations have been made in this regard apart from the work being carried out at the local level, Sharma said
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NORWAY CROWN PRINCE HOPEFUL OF PEACE PROCESS
Kathmandu, Nov 25: Visiting Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon Magnus Thursday lauded the latest progress in peace and constitution writing process saying it had given hope that the process would be complete soon, The Rising Nepal reports.
Speaking at a press meet at the UN House at Pulchwok, Haakon, who is also a UNDP goodwill ambassador, was all praise of Nepal for being able to reduce infant and maternal mortality rate. "It had taken 40 years for Norway to do what Nepal has achieved in 20 years."
He also spoke well of micro-credit programme as he termed it good initiatives for liberating women from poverty. "Norway is eager to make its participation in this initiative."
When asked about the sectors Norway was interested in Nepal, he said that his country had been extending cooperation in peace and constitution building process, hydropower, climate change and education.
Helen Clarke, United Nations Development Programme administrator, said that consensus among the political parties was vital as Nepal was going through transitional period.
Referring to UN support in verification of the Maoist army combatants and the rehabilitation process for the disqualified combatants who were discharged, she said that UNDP was ready to support Nepal for overall development.
(Note: The first public programme the Norwegian crown prince after arrival was a meeting with representatives of the gay community whish isn’t a national priority of the government. But gay rights issues are being
pushed mainly by European counties in Nepal, including the British
and US governments.)
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MAIZE PRODUCTION TO INCREASE 5.4 PERCENT THIS YEAR






Paddy, maize productions to be highest ever this year
By A Staff Reporter




Kathmandu, Nov. 24, The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has projected that the production of paddy and maize will be highest ever this year thanks to favourable monsoon.
The ministry has projected that the production of paddy and maize will increase by 13.7 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively during the current fiscal year as compared to the production of last year.
It expected that the production of paddy will be around 5,072,240 metric tons from the 1,531,493 hectares of paddy farm. During the last fiscal year, paddy output stood at around 4,524,000 metric tones.
Paddy farming has increased only around 2.3 per cent this year as compared to the last year.
Likewise, production per hectares land will increase by 11.1 per cent to 3,312 kg this year as compared to the last year.
Similarly, it forecasted that the production of maize will increase by 5.4 per cent to 2,179,414 metric tones from the 871387 hectares planted land during the current fiscal year.
The maize planting land reduced by 35,000 hectares land this year.
Likewise, the production of per hectare will increase by 9.6 per cent to 2,501 kg this year as compared to last year.
According to Dr. Hari Dahal, spokespersons of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, production of paddy and maize is expected to increase due to favorable monsoon.
He claimed that production of paddy and maize will be highest ever.
Similarly, he projected that production of millet will increase by 4.1 per cent to 315,000 metric tones during the current fiscal year.
Dahal said, "Timely rainfall and less natural disasters are the major causes of increased production of summer croups."
Boost in crop production is positive for foods security, he said and added that the government can export around 200,000 metric tones of paddy this year.
On price value, the paddy production would be worth of Rs. 100 billion and the hay worth of Rs. 20 to 25 billion this year, Dahal said. Similarly, maize production will be worth Rs. 46 billion to Rs. 47 billion this year.
Kathmandu, 25 Nov.: The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has projected that the production of paddy and maize will be highest ever this year thanks to favourable monsoon, The Rising Nepal reports.
The ministry has projected that the production of paddy and maize will increase by 13.7 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively during the current fiscal year as compared to the production of last year.
It expected that the production of paddy will be around 5,072,240 metric tons from the 1,531,493 hectares of paddy farm. During the last fiscal year, paddy output stood at around 4,524,000 metric tones.
Paddy farming has increased only around 2.3 per cent this year as compared to the last year.
Likewise, production per hectares land will increase by 11.1 per cent to 3,312 kg this year as compared to the last year.
Similarly, it forecasted that the production of maize will increase by 5.4 per cent to 2,179,414 metric tones from the 871387 hectares planted land during the current fiscal year.
The maize planting land reduced by 35,000 hectares land this year.
Likewise, the production of per hectare will increase by 9.6 per cent to 2,501 kg this year as compared to last year.
According to Dr. Hari Dahal, spokespersons of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, production of paddy and maize is expected to increase due to favorable monsoon.
He claimed that production of paddy and maize will be highest ever.
Similarly, he projected that production of millet will increase by 4.1 per cent to 315,000 metric tones during the current fiscal year.
Dahal said, "Timely rainfall and less natural disasters are the major causes of increased production of summer croups."
Boost in crop production is positive for foods security, he said and added that the government can export around 200,000 metric tones of paddy this year.
On price value, the paddy production would be worth of Rs. 100 billion and the hay worth of Rs. 20 to 25 billion this year, Dahal said. Similarly, maize production will be worth Rs. 46 billion to Rs. 47 billion this year.
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NEPAL HOLDS LOT OF PROMISE SAYD UNDP ADMINISTRATOR

INTERVIEW
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark visited Nepal this week, the first chief of the organisation to do so in 25 years. She is also the first female Administrator of the UN agency that has presence in more than 177 countries. Before taking office as the Administrator, she successfully led New Zealand, a country of less than five million people with many similarities to Nepal, as its prime minister. Clark, who met top political leaders including the prime minister and the President here, consistently painted an optimistic picture of Nepal’s future. In an exclusive interview with John
Narayan Parajuli of The Kathmandu Post, she spoke about how Nepal can take advantage of its location and her impressions about Nepal’s peace process. Excerpts:
The peace process has just seen a breakthrough. With this agreement, there is going to be a lot of financial burden on the government. How can the UNDP help?
We haven’t been asked for help. Nepal is taking charge and that is appropriate. And it has its packages and Nepal has even prioritised it in budget. I think the international community has interest in the rehabilitation side; the signs are that most people are going to take integration or cash options.
But, going forward, I think there will be interest in supporting rehabilitation in the form of training and other opportunities.
As a matter of principle, the UN or the donors do not want to support large cash payments for the combatants in the form of voluntary retirement. But I am also told that UN or other donors could provide budgetary support in other areas which frees up money for the government to pay off combatants.
In UN’s assistance, money does not go into budgetary supports, not really at that scale. But, obviously, there are donor partners who do this in health or education sector. And to the extent they do that, it is the money into the budget and that helps Nepal to rearrange its priorities. And I personally think rehabilitation is very important. I was impressed with what we saw with young people who had been demobilised. I understand why people are taking cash. One bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Cash can be very important in getting started with some business, but if you haven’t had the training, there is no guarantee that you would be successful.
You met the prime minister and other political leaders. What was your impression?
Well, I think the main message I have got around the ongoing peace and constitution process is that the November 1 agreement is a very very important breakthrough. It enables Nepal to move on. People have been waiting for this for a number of years now.
I got the impression that the electoral system will be sorted out. And obviously there is an issue about bases of how states are designed in the federal system. But I am hopeful—because in the development world we are in the hope business (laughs). I am hopeful that an agreement can be reached within the next few months. If it can be, I am confident that the electoral commission has the skills to get the law drafted quickly. Boundaries will need to be drawn but if you could get an agreement on constitution in six months, you could have elections within the year. And that really sets Nepal on a new course. So I think, looking at it from the UN perspective, it has been very supportive in Nepal’s journey. We have really urged the political leaders to take the momentum of the seven-point plan and move forward to conclusion as quickly as they can. As I said, the issues that have been intensely debated are not small issues. They are big issues. Everyone knows what the shape of the debate is. People know where the compromise will be. So it is now, a matter of bringing that to conclusion.
I come away pretty optimistic. Yes the debate is going on for a long time, but the issues aren’t small. A major roadblock has been cleared. I really hope that within the next few months we will see a deal, between diverse factions.
Did the prime minister or other leaders wanted to know your secrets about being a successful prime minister?
(Laughs.) I think they are very interested in what processes and skills were needed to run minority governments that were stable. And chances are Nepal might have a majority coalition government or a minority government. It just doesn’t have to mean stability, if the process is right. And I have really urged the political leaders to reach out, send their people out to look at how countries are doing to manage these systems over a long period of time, because proportional representation does not have to mean instability. Whether or not there is political instability depends a lot on the political culture and processes that are adopted.
You have said that if Nepal completes this peace and constitution process, its economy is poised to take off. What makes you so optimistic?
Because, I think, you have location. I come from a small export-oriented trading country where, if you draw a circle around New Zealand of 1,000 miles, you are going to meet around 300 thousand people. If you draw a circle of 1200 miles, you get to Australia. You have to go 6,000 miles to get to North America, or East Asia, our trading partners. So we have to make huge efforts. And here is Nepal, between the two most dynamic economies on earth today. There have to be advantages of that. I understand that China, for example, its companies are looking at how they begin to outsource more of the manufacturing. And they are looking as far as Africa. Why not Nepal? There is an opportunity. These are huge markets for you to be exporting into. If you can work out what your sectoral strategies are, where you would look for investment in, you are very well poised. So this needs to be matched by what you do with your education system, improving the health and infrastructure, and that includes your energy and roads. It’s all there for Nepal with stability.
After this visit, where does Nepal stand in terms of priority for UNDP?
Well, pretty high. Because it is coming out of this difficult period of conflict. And so recovery from this is moving on. And let’s say that relative to other situations, and I won’t name places (laughs), peace agreement is Nepal has stuck. There is not a civil war going on. People are talking about the peaceful way forward. That holds a lot of promise for me. We work in very troubled countries. And where you can’t see a clear way ahead.
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