21 PERSONS CONFIRED DEAD, 44 MISSING IN SETI RIVER FLASH FLOOD Kathmandu, 8 May: Twenty-one persons have officially been confirmed dead in Saturday’s flash flood Seti river. police said afrer fourmore bodies were recovered Monday.. Bodies of 18 persons have been identified and handed over to loved ones until Monday. Forty-four persons are still missing, police said. Three bodies that haven’t been identified have been kept at Western Regional Hospital and seven body party of unidentified persons have also been kept at hospital. nnnn . CAPITAL’S MINIMUM TEMPERATURE 17 DEGREES CELSIUS Kathmandu, 8 May: The capital’s minimum temperature Tuesday morning was 17 degrees Celsius. Mercury is expected to rise to 32 degrees in the afternoon. Nnnn IS GOVT. BID TO TUNE UP MINSTRIES OUT OF TUNE? Kathmandu, 8 May:: How many ministries does Nepal need? The question is moot, according to The Himalayan Times.. The debate has once again heated up with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s administration tweaking some ministries yesterday, even though he has not increased the number of ministries. Critics have been quick to offer a dubious honour to Bhattarai though, saying the move was aimed at appeasing government partners rather than making government more efficient in service delivery. CPN-UML, which has refused to join the government, seized the opportunity to rebuke Bhattarai. UML today said Prime Minister Bhattarai and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal have ‘admitted to the mistake’. “We will not join the government unless they correct the mistake,” said UML leader Bhim Rawal. In addition, a huge lapse has been reported: No necessary preparations were made before the ministries were ‘fine tuned’. The Ministry of Local Development has been converted into Ministry of Local Development and Provincial Affairs and the Ministry of Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture has been divided into Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Ministry of Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs. Interestingly, officials at both the ‘erstwhile’ ministries say they were yet to ‘receive an official notice’ in relation to the changes. “We have no idea about the split and merger of the ministries,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, Spokesperson for MoLD. The Madhav Kumar Nepal led-government in 2009 had split 22 ministries to create 26, in a bid to accommodate then coalition partners. Those against such frequent readjustment of ministries argue that such attempts only burden the state coffers with additional cost. Lila Mani Paudel, Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, argued that the ‘Cabinet can restructure ministries in order to share responsibilities, deliver in prompt and efficient manner and ensure good governance’. “Some of the ministries were given duties that were not even related to them,” said Paudel. “However, a portfolio distribution regulation of the reformed ministries is yet to be made.” Former vice-chairman of National Planning Commission says the government has mistimed the restructuring of ministries. “When governance through decentralisation is concerned, the central government does not need more than 12 ministries. Why not mention the number of ministries in the constitution and stick to it, like they do in the United States,” says Pokharel. “It is high time we started discussing the issues more seriously.” nnnn ARMYTO NAME ITS NOMINEE FOR PLA SELECTION Kathmandu, 8 May:: The Nepali Army is yet to name its representative to the Selection Committee formed to select Maoist People’s Liberation Army combatants for their integration into the Nepali Army, The Himalayan Times reports. Chief of the Army Staff General Chhatra Man Singh Gurung had named Maj Gen Daman Ghale as the national army’s top representative to the six-member selection committee formed under acting chairperson of the Public Service Commission Kayo Devi Yemi. Ghale, who is set to retire on May 16, is on home leave. While Nepali Army spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri conceded that the army brass is yet to pick its representative to the selection committee, a source said Chief of the Army Staff Gurung is awaiting the government nod for his recently-proposed Nepali Army Restructuring Proposal. The selection committee has not met again after its first ‘introductory-meeting” held on April 19 that stressed the need to expedite the army integration process. The integration of 3,129 Maoist combatants is getting delayed due to delay in convening the selection committee meeting. Lieutenant General Balananda Sharma (retired), coordinator of the Secretariat under the Special Committee (for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants), appealed to all concerned to expedite the integration process. Sharma pointed that practical problems will arise if personnel of the Nepali Army and former Maoist combatants’ stay in the erstwhile PLA cantonments is prolonged. nnnn PM BACKS ARMY RESTRUCTURE PROPOSAL Kathmandu, 8 May: Lending strong support to the Nepal Army’s internal restructuring proposal, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Monday said the Army could be paralysed if the 47-year-old structure is not upgraded, The Kathmandu Post reports. The PM was responding to concerns of lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties over the plan to go for a major revamp in the Army’s organisational set-up. The lawmakers had demanded that the government introduce a national security policy and a plan for the democratisation and rightsizing of the Army before the proposal is endorsed by the Cabinet. “The aim of the organisational restructuring is to strengthen the command control of the Army in its existing strength. We should not paralyse a crucial institution like the Army by keeping intact its old structure,” Bhattarai said at the State Affairs Committee. He said the structure, introduced when the Army’s strength was around 18,000, needs to be revamped. Bhattarai, however, did not say what will happen if the Army is paralysed. “The internal restructuring will support the career development of all ranks and boost the morale of the institution,” he added. “It will open up an opportunity for officers to reach higher positions, which are limited in the Nepal Army,” he said. Last week, Chief of Army Staff Gen Chhatra Man Singh Gurung had presented the Army’s plan in the State Affairs Committee. He had said that the current structure was ‘obsolete’ and incompatible with the international models. He had proposed a major reshuffle in the Army Headquarters, its field-level formations and specialised troops by keeping intact the current strength of 92,573 personnel. The Army plans to create two additional posts of lieutenant generals, six major generals, 10 brigadier generals, 14 colonels and 50 lieutenant colonels. It also proposes reducing 4,022 posts of sepoys to adjust various posts in the new set-up. In the House panel, lawmakers said the Defence Ministry must conduct a survey before approving the plan. “The right size of the Nepal Army should be fixed by making an assessment of the security threat first,” said hardline Maoist lawmaker Pumpha Bhusal. Lawmakers close to Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, however, demanded immediate implementation of the plan, arguing that the government must support the Army in implementing the two-year-old proposal gathering dust at the Defence Ministry. nnnn UML CONDITIONS FOR JOINING GOVT. Kathmandu, 8 May:- The CPN-UML on Monday put forth two conditions to join the Baburam Bhattarai-led "consensus government." First, the party said the decision to give five ministerial berths to the Samyukta Loktantirk Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) must be reconsidered and, second, the Cabinet decision to reorganise various ministries must be srapped. The party is not satisfied over Bhattarai's decision to allocate "lucrative" ministries--Home, Information and Communication, Physical Planning and Works, Health and Irrigation--to SLMM leaders, Kamal Dev Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post. The Maoist party, however, refused to review the portfolio decision, but said it could put the decision to reorganise the ministries on hold. SLMM leaders had said they would not join the government if Bhattarai failed to give them the ministries they earlier held. UML leaders said PM Bhattarai's monopoly while rehsuffling the Cabinet has made implementing the five-point deal complicated. In a meeting with the Maoist leadership, UML leaders also said it cannot join the government under the current circumstances. The party said there should be a "fresh start" as per the five-point agreement signed on Thursday midnight. In the agreement, parties had committed to form a consensus government within two days. "We admit that there were some weaknesses on our side while allocating the ministerial portfolios, but the UML also erred in not sending its candidates for ministerial positions within two days as per the five-point agreement," said Maoist Vice-chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Top Maoist leaders said reviewing the portfolios will put the constitution drafting process at risk. The UML, which is sharply divided on joining the government, also expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of discussions on portfolio divisions. "We will not join the government under the current circumstances, but we are ready to play a proactive role in settling the contentious issues of constitution drafting," said UML General Secretary Ishwar Pokhrel. Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress failed to pick the remaining candidates who will join the government. NC leaders said the establishment faction led by Party President Sushil Koirala is busy appeasing the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction on joining the government. nnnn