MORE DETAILS OF DHANKUTA FIRE
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: All five members of a family died when a house run as a hotel caught overnight at Rajarani VDC in Dhankuta.
The fire was doused in two; hours.
Nnnn
STUDENTS GIVE 24-HOUR ULTIMATUM TO RETRACT PRCE HIKE DECISION UPDATE
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: A meeting of 13 student unions Thursday
gave the government a 24 hour ultimatum to correct a government decision to hike prices
This was announced by Maoist student leader Himal Sharma.
Nnnn
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE MEET INCONCLUSIVE
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: A meeting of the main constitution drafting committee to draw up a constitution chaired by Nilabar Acharya was
inconclusive Thursday,
The committee met to approve recommendations of a Prachanda sub-committee tasked with responsibility to resolve differences on
themes for inclusion in a basis law.
Difference have to be resolved in another 10 days or 29 January.
Without unanimity between major political players, articles for a constitution will have to be adopted by a majority two-third vote.
The process in the 600-member constituent assembly will be
cumbersome and will required two-third majority could be
elusive to promulgate a constitution by the fresh 29 May
deadline.
Main opposition Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel said after Thursday’s meet a section of Maoists renegaded on agreements on themes on which thre was agreement at the Prachanda sub-committee.
The Maoist chief absented himself from Thursday’s meet.
nnnn
/
ytmeeting was xNikons
INCONCLUSIVE
PRACHANDA LWAS NOT PRESENT DIFFERING OPOSITIONS Paudel s aid.
24-hour ultimatum HImal Shrma lof Maoist said
Agreement by 15 Maghof dhankuta fire
TWO; HOUR
No reason Nt knwn how
Rajrani HOtekl in Dhankua
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: Main coctitution drafting
MEDIA GOOGLE
"One of the agendas of my visit is to remove misunderstanding and doubts if any at the highest political level, [between the] governments and prime ministers of
both countries."
(DPM Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar, Republica, 19 Jan.)
“Although the visit was not a long one, it was fruitful. The
Chinese premier and the Chinese people were really moved by these [security for Premier Wem Jiabao] efforts “
(Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan, The Kathamandu Post.)
nnnn
DARFUR SCAM ACCUSED HELD
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: The local agent of a London-based firm that had supplied substandard Armoured Personnel Carriers to the Nepal Police mission in Sudan today landed, The Himalayan Times reports
in jail again, but for a different reason.
Police arrested Shambhu Bharati of Bhagwati Traders for manhandling on-duty police personnel during a security check.
SP Rajendra Shrestha, chief of the Kathmandu Police, said Bharati abused police personnel carrying surprise checks on vehicles as part of the two-week-long Valley Special Security plan, in Hanumansthan.
“Bharati was driving a car (Ba 5 Cha 3953). He did not cooperate with on-duty personnel and tried to intimidate them,” DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh, spokesperson for Kathmandu police, said.
“Bharati, who identified himself as a ‘trusted man of Nepal Police’, threatened to sack the policemen,”he said. Bharati has been charged under the Public Offences Act.
Meanwhile, District Administration Office Kathmandu, has remanded him to six days in judicial custody to press charges against him.
Bharati is one of the 35 people, including 34 police officials, indicted in the Darfur scam. He was released on bail.
nnnn
GURKHAS SADDENED BY CUTS IN BRITISH ARMY
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: Gurkha veterans in Nepal spoke of their sadness and sense of injustice today at Britain's decision to axe 400 jobs in the brigade as part of a wave of defence cuts, AFP reports from Kathmandu.
The Ministry of Defence has announced redundancies among 2,900 British army jobs going along with 1,000 air force and 300 Royal Navy positions as Britain's coalition government takes further steps to slash a record deficit.
"When they needed troops for battle, the UK government recruited hundreds and thousands of Gurkhas but they have decided to cut numbers in the name of reducing defence expenditure," said Gajendra Isbo, of the Kathmandu-based Gurkha Army Ex-Serviceman's Organisation.
"The decision to reduce the numbers is unfortunate and a great injustice."
The steep cuts to the Gurkha brigade, which has been part of the British army for nearly two centuries, follow a series of setbacks in recent years including a battle over pensions.
"We are saddened by this decision," Isbo added. "Downsizing is just like punishment. We hope the British government corrects the decision."
Around 3,500 Gurkhas recruited from Nepal currently serve in the British army, including in Afghanistan, and they have their own brigade.
About 200,000 Gurkhas fought for Britain in World War I and World War II and more than 45,000 have died in British uniform. They have a reputation for ferocity and bravery and are known for their distinctive curved Kukri knives.
"The Brigade of Gurkhas has been growing in size since modernisation in 2007 which also allowed them to serve for 22 years instead of 15," a statement from the British Embassy in Kathmandu said.
"This reduction in numbers has therefore been anticipated for some time."
Defence minister Philip Hammond said yesterday that the government had "no choice" but to axe the posts as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) after the previous Labour government overspent on defence.
He said the Gurkha cuts would only affect those with six years' service or more.
nnnn
PLAN TO ATTRACT RS.500B INVESTMENT
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: The government is planning to attract some Rs 500 billion worth investment under the ambitious Nepal Investment Year 2012-13 campaign, The Himalayan Times reports.
“We are preparing a detail study of 50 mega projects,” Investment Board chief executive Radhesh Pant, said here today. The Board — that looks after only mega projects of above Rs 10 billion — has been actively working out on policy reforms and harmonisation, and preparing at least 50 project profiles that will bring some Rs 500 billion in the country that has been witnessing a sluggish growth since last three fiscal years. “The foreign investments will help propel economic growth,” he added.
“Large scale investment is crucial for economic growth,” said Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) president Suraj Vaidya.
“For growth of about eight per cent, we need 40 per cent of the gross domestic production (GDP) to go in the investment but our savings rate is very low,” he said, reasoning for the foreign investment. Despite various challenges, Nepal Investment Year will be a turning point to mobilise investment — both local and foreign — for the economic development, Vaidya said. “The campaign will help bring business and economy into the forefront and help initiate in garnering broad consensus on investment related policies and issues.” Nepal Investment Year will show the international investors that Nepal has investment-friendly environment and also identify its strong points as a potential investment destination.
The umbrella organisation of the private sector claims that it will also help identify the potential investors and network with them, apart from help Nepali investors connect with foreign investors.
As the global competition for investment is becoming more rigorous, the international investors seek incentives, Vaidya said, adding various countries have declared special incentives to lure foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as investors are choosy and capital is mobile.
The FNCCI will help the board work for the improvement in the investment climate, though the investment climate has improved in recent years, he added.
However, the political ownership is a major challenge, according to private sector. The Board might help create political consensus among the political parties to minimise the risk, as frequent changes in governments and of governments lead to policy instability and due to lack of ownership of the national campaign, the plans, promotion and marketing of the country might get hit. The FNCCI has planned mega show — international investment conference — in 2013, investment portal as FDI information centre and hopeful of agreement of at least 10 mega projects within the event period, to support the national campaign that has envisioned to double the investment size, become one stop service to investors, increase domestic investment and FDI, bi-lateral, and multilateral aid in infrastructure sector like energy, road, irrigation and social service sector.
The Board has also formed Investment Promotion sub-committee led by Vaidya; Investment Project Identification sub-committee led by Pant; Act, Rules and Policies Revision sub-committee led by National Planning Commission vice chair Deependra Bahadur Kshetri to make the Nepal Investment Year a great success.
FNCCI priority
• Water and water related projects
• Agriculture and Agri
processing industries
• Infrastructure
• Tourism
• Services
• Mine and Minerals based industries
nnnn
HOUSE FUZZED OVER GUPTA
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: With no legal provision at its disposal to act against lawmakers involved in criminal activities, the parliament is at a loss about how to suspend Shyam Sundar Gupta, who is in police custody for masterminding the abduction of a businessman, The Kathmandu Post reports.
The parliament has authority to suspend only those lawmakers who are charged with corruption by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). However, after police found out the former minister’s direct involvement in kidnapping Pawan Sanghai, the parliament has stepped up efforts to amend its rules to allow immediate suspension of Gupta.
Speaker Subas Nembang has held consultations with leaders of major political parties and reportedly received their support in introducing a provision in the Parliament Rules of Procedures-2008 to take action against any lawmaker facing criminal charges.
“We have issued a notice and decided to block the salary and other allowances of Shyam Sundar Gupta,” Nembang said.
“There is no legal provision to punish a lawmaker involved in crime. We are now preparing to introduce some to address this loophole.” A taskforce formed by the parliament earlier this month to make recommendations on the amendment of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedures is currently looking over the issue.
Officials at the Parliament Secretariat feel the legal leverage on lawmakers involved in criminal cases will discredit the entire parliamentary system. The current law does not
recommend scrapping the membership of or suspending a lawmaker involved in crime.
Article 65 (C) of the Interim Constitution states that a person must not have been punished for any criminal offence involving moral turpitude to be eligible for a member of the CA.
nnnn
INCLUSIVE BILL MAY MEET OPPOSITION
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: The much-talked about inclusive bill continues to face hiccups. After senior bureaucrats, the Public Service Commission (PSC) is likely to oppose some provisions incorporated in the bill already okayed by a Cabinet
Committee, Pranab Kharel reports in The Kathmandi Post..
Among others, the categorisation of Brahmins and Chhetris as “others” is under scrutiny. The bill doesn’t clearly mention as to whom it qualifies with the term “backward groups”, to whom it aims to guarantee 48 percent reservation in government jobs, said a senior PSC official on condition of anonymity.
The official said Brahmins and Chhetris cannot be categorised as “others” and the government should clarify as to who constitutes Dalits and Madhesis. The PSC recommendation would be along those lines, he said. The bill, he stated, should have a clear strategy on uplifting marginalised groups such as Rautes. “One cannot classify Newar and Raute under the same category.”
Asked how the PSC would treat the bill, the official clarified that the commission is consulting now. “However, the bill will see some changes following our recommendations,” the official expressed confidence.
The government would table the bill in the parliament only after inputs from the PSC. The Bill Committee of the Cabinet on January 10 had given nod to the bill. However, serious differences had surfaced between senior bureaucrats and Minister for Law and Justice Brijesh Gupta, especially over the categorisation of Brahmins and Chhetris as “others”. Differences also persisted on the categorisation of 59 ethnic groups. Some bureaucrats had submitted their reservation in writing.
Aftermath of protests, the committee had formed a taskforce under Secretary of Prime Minister Office Trilochan Upreti to sort out technical details. The bill has a provision of a “negative list” which the government could publish in the Gazette, he said.
Upreti also said the reservation in the government service will only be at the entry level. Among other things, the bill states that those working in community or government-run schools and who receive monetary support from other sources, will not be eligible for reservation and the number of women in security forces will remain intact.
nnnn
DIG's WIFE MISSING SINCE 11 JAN. FROM CAPITAL
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: The wife of Armed Police Force Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ranjan Koirala went missing from her Budhanilkantha residence on January 11. Her whereabouts still remain unknown, Bikash.Sangraula writes in Republica.
Relatives of the DIG´s wife, Gita Dhakal Koirala, 38, lodged a kidnapping complaint against Koirala at National Human Rights Commission, National Women Commission and the Prime Minister´s Office on Tuesday after Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka, refused to register a complaint against him.
Gita´s relatives claim she was made to disappear by DIG Koirala, 44, so that he could claim ownership of the house in Budhanilkantha that Gita owns.
Though not divorced, the husband and wife had been living separately for the past six years. They had a lengthy and bitter history of quarrels and were being counseled at the National Women Commission for the past one-and-half years after Gita sought help claiming she was a victim of violence from her husband.
Gita´s relatives say Metropolitan Police Range has refused to investigate the ´kidnapping´ because the accused is a DIG. They say accepting the complaint would make detention of the accused compulsory for investigation.
But Superintendent of Police Rajendra Shrestha, chief of Metropolitan Police Range, said the abduction complaint was rejected for lack of evidence. “We did not register the kidnapping complaint as there is no evidence to press such a serious charge. But we are investigating and want to assure that no one will be spared if we get evidence,” said Shrestha.
Gita´s family members came to know about her disappearance only on January 13 when they visited her house after her cell phone (9741043991) remained switched off for two consecutive days. From Gita´s maid they learnt that she had not been seen in her house since 3:30 pm on January 11 when the maid entered the house to take care of household chores.
The maid also informed the family members that the main gate and doors of the house were open when she visited the house on January 11. The maid, who lives in a rented room barely 75 meters from the house, witnessed a white jeep arrive with headlights off at the house at 7:30 pm on January 11 and leave hours later. The house was locked when Gita´s family members visited it in the morning of January 13.
Police, who were informed immediately after Gita´s relatives were briefed by the maid, waited till January 14 to break into the house. The cops broke into the house after their day-long attempt to trace and inform DIG Koirala bore no fruit. There was no trace of Gita inside the house.
In the morning of January 11, DIG Koirala, who lives in Swayambhu, had traveled to the Budhanilkantha residence to get the younger of his two sons who was living with her. Gita had informed her mother that afternoon that the son had gone to live with his father for a few days.
Gita´s relatives claim the son was taken away so that he would not have to witness his mother´s kidnapping.
Gita´s relatives first reached Metropolitan Police Range on January 15 to lodge the kidnapping complaint. But they were returned saying SP Shrestha was not in the office. They again went to the office on January 16.
“Instead of registering our complaint, we were asked to discuss the situation with DIG Koirala who was there with four lawyers,” said a relative, who preferred to remain unnamed.
During the discussion, the DIG promised that he would find Gita by January 20 or else surrender to the police for investigation, her relatives claimed.
But DIG Koirala told Republica that he made no such promise. “All accusations against me are false. There is no evidence. And I have only agreed to do my part in looking for her,” he said.
He added that Gita might have traveled to India. “We have learnt that she had frequently traveled to India in the past. She might be on one of her trips,” he said.
nnnn
________________________________________
31 PARTIES DON’T SUBMIT FINANCIAL STATEMENT TO EC
Kathmandu, 19 Jan : Altogether 31 political parties registered at the Election Commission (EC) have failed to furnish the details of their financial activities by Monday -- the deadline set by the constitutional body to furnish the details -- prompting the commission to consider taking action for the defiance, Gani Ansari reports in Republica.
Acting Election Commissioner Neel Kanth Upreti said the commission is yet to take a decision on the nature of action to be taken against such parties but said the constitutional commission will take “necessary” action depending on how the parties justify the delay.
“We will take appropriate action,” Upreti told Republica.
According to EC, altogether 27 political parties have submitted the financial details of the last four years to EC while other 19 parties have submitted partial reports and sought more time for submission of a full report.
Madhes-based political parties -- Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Democratic (MPRF-D) and Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) are among the 31 parties that have failed to submit the details of their financial activities.
When asked if the commission would extend the deadline for submission of the report, Upreti said, “We will evaluate the justifications for seeking extension of the deadline.”
Officials said the commission is preparing to take action to be taken against errant parties.
“The constitutional body is determined to take necessary action against such political parties,” said Joint Secretary Madhu Prasad Regmi, who heads the legal division of the constitutional body.
As per the existing laws, the EC can annul registration of a party if it fails to furnish its audited financial reports for three consecutive years.
According to the EC officials, the constitutional body has categorized the political parties into four categories on the basis of the status of their financial reports.
Main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) has submitted details of the financial activities of three fiscal years after the Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008. NC has sought two more months for submission a full report.
Altogether 80 parties are registered at the Election Commission. The political parties, as per the existing laws, are required to submit their financial reports to the commission every fiscal year. The EC may cancel registration of a party for failure to submit such details for three consecutive years.
nnnn
________________________________________
________________________________________
DETAILS OF JOINT NC MEET
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.:, A joint meeting of the central working committee and the parliamentary party of Nepali Congress on Wednesday started discussions to finalize the party’s official position regarding the form of governance and state restructuring, The Rising Nepal reports..
At the end of today’s meeting, NC parliamentary party spokesperson Nabindra Raj Joshi told journalists that the meeting mainly centered on the form of governance.
The leaders said that parliamentary system would be better than the executive presidency.
"They shared ideas about the fundamentals of democracy, power separation, accountable government and sovereignty of the people," he said and added that the leaders stressed the need to adopt the parliamentary system.
However, some speakers said that the party must be open to elections to president in the new constitution.
"They also said the matter should be finalized after intensive discussions with other parties and NC should stand for the best option, which can give stability for 60 years. They were against a power sharing system and it could bring instability."
In the beginning of the meeting, NC parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Poudel informed about the developments made in peace process and constitution writing. He said the party would stick to its stand for the parliamentary system.
Following Poudel’s remarks, Gopal Man Shrestha, Narahari Acharya, Dr. Minendra Rijal, Suprabha Ghimire, Ramesh Lekhak, Min Biswokarma, Gagan Thapa, Purusottam Basnet, Jiban Prem Shrestha, Debraj Shrestha and others put their views on the form of governance.
According to NC central member Badri Pandey, many of them said they would not accept the system that concentrates the executive power on a single person as it could breed dictatorship.
"A parliament-elected leader will be more democratic than the directly elected president," Pandey quoted the leaders as saying.
Some members
advocated for a direct election to the prime minister.
According to Joshi, at the meeting, members also expressed their views on the government’s latest decision regarding private property that was dealt by the people’s government during Maoist insurgency.
The joint meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
Nnnn
MoE TO CERTIFY INFORMAL TECHNIAL SKILLS
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: Do you have some informal technical skills but lack official certificate to recognize them? The government has come up with a solution, Manjima Dhakal writes in The Rising Nepal.
The Enhanced Vocational Education and Training (EVENT) Project launched by the Ministry of Education (MoE) seeks to address the problems of the people with informal technical skills. The project was formally launched in August 23, 2011.
The project launched with the financial support of the World Bank aims to expand the supply of skilled technical manpower and produce additional 75,000 skilled Nepali youths in coming four years time period. The project especially focuses on the needs of the disadvantaged groups.
The National Scale Testing Board under the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) will test skills and provide certificates to these youths in coordination with the project.
The project will provide short term
vocational training for unskilled manpower in two different modalities. The first, called voucher based financing mechanism will cover three urban centers for 10,000 trainees. The other, called result based financing mechanism, will cover 15 to 25 districts to train 37,500 youths.
The areas of the training include dairy production, floor decoration, web designing, motorcycle repairing, beauty parlour among others.
Under the project, two types of grants
will be provided to institutions. Matching grant will be given to public and community institution while performance grants will be provided to community, public and private institutions.
Similarly, the project will also be monitoring different institutions that provide technical education.
Laxmi Ram Poudel, Project director of EVENT said that all programme will be conducted in coordination with the CTEVT. The project will supplement the works of CTEVT which is unable to meet the market demand of technical manpower.
Now it has called applications from institutions for conducting vocational training. After selection of the institutions, students will be able to get training from those institutions. Likewise, the project has provided scholarships to TSLC and Diploma level students for this year.
Poudel claimed that the objectivities of the project would be met within three years if works proceed in the present speed.
Nnnn
'MAOISTS SETTLED 5,000 LAND CASES IN SALYAN
Kathmandu, 19 Jan.: The peoples´ governments formed by the Maoists during the conflict period are found to have passed some 5,000 land ownership deals in Salyan district alone, RSS reports from Salyan.
The all-party mechanism coordinated by Maoist Secretary Tikaram Wali had sent the records passed by the Maoist people´s governments in the district to the Land Reform Ministry through the District Land Revenue Office one year ago.
Oli said works could not be moved forward as no meeting of the mechanism was held even if it was said to be managed through all-party discussion after collection of details.
Although many have taken land ownership certificates from the Land Revenue Office with the restoration of peace, the Maoists, however, said less than 30 percent have taken them.
Most have agreed to the actions of the peoples´ governments, but some dishonest people only came to the Land Revenue Office to pass the land, said Oli.
They have the record of the land ownerships given by us and we too have some photocopy, he said.
Although a task force was formed, it could not work, said Task Force Member of CPN-UML Gyaneswor KC. No meetings of the task force were held.
Oli warned if the legal recognition of the deal is not implemented, the farmers will rebel.
Most of such lands are in Bafukhola, Shivarath and Bame VDCs as they were Maoist base areas during the conflict.
"We had passed the lands to give relief to the people during people´s war. We are waiting for the implementation of the government decision to recognize them", Oli said.
Nnnn
________________________________________
GOVT. COMING WITH A NEW LAND POLICY
Kathmandu, Jan. 18, The Government is going to bring the National Land-use Policy, 2012, RSS reports.
The Ministry of Land Reform and Management organized a seminar here today to give final shape to the draft of the National Land-use Policy. The ministry has already collected suggestions from 15 districts to that connection.
The Natural Means and Resources Committee of the Legislature-Parliament two years back directed the Government to bring a new land-use policy within three months citing the agricultural land was being increasingly turned into settlements due to the rapid increase in the population, growing forest encroachment and increase in natural disasters like floods and landslides.
The national land-use policy has adopted the policy of classifying the entire land in the country based on its topography, capacity, usefulness and requirement, and accordingly preparing a structured land use plan which would be implemented within the coming five years.
It is stated in the draft national land use policy that land mapping would be carried out at the centre, district, municipality and VDC levels and the land would be categorized into agriculture, settlement, forest, industrial, historical and religious and public land.
The policy stresses that there should be at least some green area and open area in the urban areas and that there should be a total 40 per cent forest area. It also stresses conservation of the wildlife reserve, wetlands and the Chure region.
Inaugurating the seminar, Minister for Land Reform and Management,
Bhim Prasad Gautam said the agriculture production has declined and the negative impact of climate change has increased as the agriculture land could not be protected through systematised division and classification of land.
Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri, Chairman of the National Cooperatives Board , Keshav Badal and CA member Janak Kumari Chalise spoke on different issues pertaining to the land use policy and stressed the need for formulating and strictly implementing a scientific land use policy.
Secretary at the Ministry of Land Reform and Management, Lalmani Joshi said the draft would be presented to the Council of Ministers for its approval and it would be first implemented in Chitwan and Nawalparasi Districts in the initial phase.
nnnn
No comments:
Post a Comment