UML CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETS FOR SECOND DAY THURSDAY

UML CENTRAL COMMITTEE
MEETS FOR SECOND DAY THURSDAY
Kathmandu, 16 Feb. : Maoist central committee meets for the second day
Thursday.
Central committee member will comment on Chairman Jhalanath Khanal’s political report to be presented at a meeting of the national representative council in
the capital 4 March.
A broad agenda was adopted Wednesday for discussion at the committee,
including distribution of party responsibility for leaders, party unity and reinforcement, turning the third largest arty into the biggest party.
Other subjects are also being discussed.
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CAPITAL’S MINIMUM TEMPERATURE 5 DEGREES CELSIUS

Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: Minimum temperature of 5 degrees Celsius was
recorded in the capital Thursday as flowers start to bloom with the advent of spring.
But the chill is expected to last for several more days until Shiba Ratri on Monday.
Preparations are being made at Pashupatinath Temple, the country’s holiest
shrine, to welcome devotees.
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MAOISTS FLOAT NEW BODY WITH FORMER PLA FIGHTERS
Kathmandu, 16 Feb : Top Maoist commanders have proposed to the ongoing general staff meeting of the PLA to form an organization for retired combatants, members of the YCL with a PLA past and the former disqualified combatants, Kiran Pun .writes in Republica.

They have proposed forming an Ex-PLA Organization, which will be a party wing comprising former disqualified combatants numbering around 4,000 and the recently retired 7,365 Maoist combatants. Those who have been with the PLA for six months will also be eligible for membership of the proposed new wing.

"The commander comrades have proposed to form such an organization, underlining the need to organize those who were in the PLA," said Second Division Commander Suk Bahadur Roka Magar.

The commanders have also asked the party to create a conducive environment for them to join politics if they wish to continue in party politics. They floated the proposal in order to accommodate the aspirations of retired combatants who have been demanding to be given responsibilities in the party.

Commanders up to the rank of company commander in the PLA are considered at par with state committee members while commanders below the rank of company commander are considered equal to members of division committee branches and sub-branches in the Maoist party organization.

The commanders have also proposed forming a taskforce to find out the exact number of former PLA who are now members of the YCL to make them members of the proposed new organization. They likewise proposed giving them a relief package, as well as letters of appreciation to the YCL and PLA.

At the meeting, the commanders suggested that 13 of the cantonments should be closed down while retaining 15 cantonments to accomodate the remaining combatants who are waiting integration into the national army.

The commanders have made the same suggestion to the secretariat for the Special Committee which is currently working on how many cantonments should be closed following the retirement recently of over 7,000 Maoist combatants.

A source at the secretariat told Republica that the secretariat has accepted the suggestion of the commanders and is going to make the same recommendation to the Special Committee. The last meeting of the Special Committee had formed a taskforce to suggest how many cantonments should be closed down.

The PLA general staff meeting began on Tuesday and will continue Thursday also.
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MAOIST TURF WAR CONTINUES
Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: Despite a semblance of unity, the three Maoist factions continue to carry out internal activities to bolster their organizational hold, as the leaders don´t seem convinced that the current intra-party power equation would last long, Post B. Basnet writes in.Republica

While the faction led by Vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai, who is also the prime minister, has been holding separate programs, party radicals have been reaching out to the grassroots cadres with cultural programs and issuing separate circulars to cadres loyal to them.

Sources say the party radicals do not trust Dahal very much, but don´t want to spoil their relations with him, either. So the faction is very cautious not to offend Dahal. “We are putting in best efforts to bring the party onto the revolutionary track. So we will not attack the chairman publicly and spoil everything,” said Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma from the radical faction led by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya.

This explains why the radicals have remained silent on the recent threats and attacks on PLA personnel loyal to them by those close to Dahal over the issue of financial transparency.

Udaya Chalaune, who was the division vice-commander at Shaktikhor and opted for voluntary retirement, held a press meet exposing the threats issued to him by commanders close to Dahal. But none of the Baidya faction leaders spoke in his favor.

So, why have the leaders, who have all along been raising the issue of financial transparency, remained silent on the issue? “It is because they want the assistance of Dahal to topple the government. The basis of unity between Dahal and Baidya is the dissolution of the Bhattarai-led government, and the possibility of turning the power configuration in each other´s favor. Otherwise there is no space for unity between the two leaders who hold separate political ideologies,” says a leader close to Bhattarai.

And this explains why Dahal frequently asks other parties to form a national consensus government, though the current government is led by the leader of his own party. But his strategy has not worked as the Nepali Congress (NC), the second largest political party, insists that the party will not participate in the government without the current government first concluding the peace process.

“And that´s the reason why the Baidya faction wants the prime minister to resign first, though there seems to be no other alternative to the Bhattarai-led government,” says Maoist leader Ram Karki.

In the ongoing party Standing Committee meeting, the Baidya faction has been vociferously demanding resignation of the prime minister to pave the way for a national consensus government.

“The party has already decided to form a national unity government. So I wonder why he doesn´t step down,” says Hari Bhakta Kandel who is close to Baidya.

Party insiders say the radicals reckon that the resignation will bring about fissures between Dahal and Bhattarai to their great advantage. But circumstances turned adverse with NC and Madhes-based parties expressing unwillingness to form a national unity government at this juncture.

So, what will be its implications on Dahal-Baidya alliance?

Sources say Dahal, albeit hesitatingly, is making compromises with other parties on the peace and constitution drafting process and that doesn´t augur well for the Dahal-Baidya alliance.

Baidya faction sees no possibility of framing a “pro-people” constitution and pushes for an urban revolt to seize state power, while Dahal knows that such a move would be disastrous. And if he doesn´t opt for a revolt, it will strain his relations with Baidya.

So, there seems to be very limited choices for Dahal. With the constitution drafting deadline approaching fast, it will not take very long to see what cards Dahal plays to save the peace and constitution drafting process and the party unity at the same time.
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NEPAL INDIA AGREE TO EXPEDITE FORMATION OF PANCHESHWOR DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: Nepal and India today renewed their commitment to expedite procedure for establishment of Pancheshwor Development Authority and to conclude Detailed Project Report of Saptakoshi multipurpose high-dam project by February
2013, The Himalayan Times reports.

The pledge was made during first-ever meeting of Nepal-India Joint Ministerial Level Commission on Water Resources that concluded in New Delhi with issuing an 11-point joint communiqué today. “We have agreed to accelerate the formation of Pancheshwor Development Authority, and to finalise the DPR of Saptakoshi high dam within a year,” Energy Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati said during a joint press conference, following the meeting at Taj Man Singh Hotel in New Delhi.

Bogati had led a 22-member Nepali delegation, whereas Indian side was led by Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.

The time set to finalise Saptakoshi high dam DPR, however, seems ambitious, as only pre-feasibility and soil testing work has begun. The two countries agreed in 1996 to conduct a feasibly study on proposed 3,000 MW multi-purpose Saptakoshi high dam project and Sunkoshi-Kamala diversion project for which a joint office was set up in Biratnagar. Authorities, however, failed to expedite feasibility work in the past because of protests by Maoist affiliated associations and some local residents.

Nepali side raised concern about the non-implementation of Pancheshwor Multi-Purpose Project, a part of Nepal-India Mahakali Treaty of 1996, and formation of the PDA to execute the treaty. “The Indian side responded to it positively,” a Nepali delegate told THT from Delhi over phone.

Nepal has already approved the Terms of Reference of the PDA but India has not. In today’s meeting, Indian side made clear that they have no reservation on the ToR and expressed readiness to approve the same promptly, according to the Nepali delegate.

ASP Sinha, a senior official at Ministry of Water Resources of India, said major issues of bilateral water and energy sectors, including Saptakoshi and Pancheshwor projects figured in the course of the meeting, which he termed positive.

The fact that the meeting was introductory in nature, no formal agreement or MoU was singed. Both sides, however, reviewed the progress being made on upgradation of transmission lines on the Indian side of the border to facilitate supply of extra power to Nepal. Nepal sought remaining 75 MW power, out of a total of 100 MW that India had promised to trade with Nepal during the sixth Energy Secretary-level talks held in New Delhi in November.
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NOC DIVERSIFYING LPG MANUFACTURING BUSINESS
Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: The government is planning on granting permission to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to operate a separate liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
bottling plant, Shiromani Dhungana writes in The Himalayan Times.

The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies has asked the corporation to submit a report on the possibilities of operating a bottling plant, joint secretary at the ministry Deepak Subedi said. “The corporation will submit a feasibility report soon.”

The ministry realised the need for the state oil monopoly to operate a bottling plant after private bottling plants didn’t cooperate with the government to ease cooking gas supply during the crisis.

It deeply felt that private bottling plants did not show any business ethics to normal the cooking gas supply, an official at the ministry told The Himalayan Times.

However, it is not the first time that NOC has been talking about constructing a bottling plant. The corporation has, in fact, already purchased land in Dhanusa to operate a bottling plant, acting managing director Suresh Kumar Agrawal said, adding that consecutive governments had stalled the plan under the influence of different interest groups.

Currently, there are 42 LPG bottling plants in operation across the country, according to the NOC. Similarly, nearly a dozen bottling plants have further acquired a license to operate bottling plants. Similarly, the ministry has also directed NOC to submit a separate report on expanding the capacity of its storage facilities.

The increase in storage capacity over the years in line with the growth in demand is quite satisfactory. The present storage capacity of 71,558 kiloliters (kl), however, is sufficient for only 15 days of national sales based on the projected sales for 2009.

The ministry also directed NOC to submit the progress report on the construction of the much-hyped pipeline project from Indian Oil Corporation’s depot at Raxaul to Nepal Oil Corporation’s depot at Amlekhgunj.

The pipeline project has been in discussion since 1995. NOC had also carried out a pre-feasibility study in 2004 and a technical study in 2006 but project could not materialise. The ministry will initiate necessary action to accelerate all these projects after receiving a proposal from NOC.

Separate cylinders

The government is working to introduce separate cooking gas cylinders for commercial and household users with different prices. Nepal Oil Corporation is planning for the new arrangements as the current 14.2 kg gas cylinders are used by both commercial and domestic consumers. Commercial consumers like hotels and restaurants will get 19-kg cylinders, whereas domestic consumers will continue to get the current 14.2 kg cooking gas cylinders.
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