PRESIDENT WON’T ENDORSE A BUDGET WITHOUT CONSENSUS Kathmandu, 23 June: President Dr. Ram Sharan Baran Yadav won’t endorse a budget with new programmes incorporate din a complete budget, Nagarik reports. The president has conveyed this to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai before he embarked on his Brazil visit. ‘The prime minister has already told the prime minister if preparations are made by the government to bring the budget without agreement, such a budget wont be endorsed by the president who has conveyed this to the prime minister,” a source said. {Note: Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun has been lobbying for opposition Support for a budget for the new fiscal year 2012/12 budget from mid-July.) nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “The party has only understood class struggle and it gave false assurances over the establishment of ethnic identity. “Hinduism can be found within Maoists which hampered us. It is said that the country is secular, but Baburam Bhattarai worshipped Hindu gods after becoming Prime Minister. This is the best example to explain that the spread of Hinduism has been strong in the country.” (Former General Kumar Phudung who has inducted into UCPN (Maoist), The Himalayan Times, 23 June) “I coordinated between Maoist and the Royal palace. But Dahal [Pushpa Kamal] used me and threw away.” (Former General Kumar Phudung, The Himalayan Times, 23 June) “If your believe that India is the elder sister of Nepal on account of linguistic (of Hindi) similarity, then Nepal is also the elder sister of India in the sense that this country became a state (nation state) seven years before the United States of America was born, :Nepal is the only country in this region that remained independent throughout history, which cannot be said about India.” (Indian Ambassador Jayant Prasad, The Himalayan Times, 23 June) Nnnn GOVT. PUSHES FULL BUDGET AGAINST OPPOSITION PROTSTS Kathmandu, 23 June: Once again, the budget has become the bargaining chip for political parties, Kuvera Chalise writes in The Himalayan Times . Opposition parties Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have been pressing the Maoist-led incumbent government to pave way for a national unity government before talking about the fiscal policy. Caretaker Finance Minister Barshaman Pun, who is preparing a full-fledged budget of around Rs 429 billion, has been knocking on the doors of chiefs of NC and UML to garner support, but his efforts so far have failed to bear fruit. Pun this morning called on UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal. But Khanal told Pun what NC President Sushil Koirala had said yesterday evening: "We'll talk about budget only after political consensus." However, Pun, after his meeting with Khanal, said there was possibility of political consensus by the end of this fiscal year. NC and UML are of the view that the caretaker government — that has no right to bring a full-fledged budget — is forcefully trying to do so through ordinance and misuse state coffers. Though the UCPN-M thinks it can enforce the full-fledged budget through ordinance, it will be morally difficult for the government to do so, and in the absence of political consensus, the government will be forced to bring special budget for regular expenditures that will be one-third of the current fiscal budget of Rs 384.90 billion. Economists too have suggested that the government bring a small-sized budget through ordinance for three to six months. "Otherwise there will be no ownership of the budget, making its implementation difficult," said economist Bishwhambher Pyakuryal. "This fiscal, the budget was announced on time but the government has not been able to spend even half of the development expenditures due to lack of ownership." This fiscal's budget was announced by then finance minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari of UML, but immediately after the budget, the UCPN-Maoist came to power and Pun took charge of the Ministry of Finance. Nnnn GOVT. NEGLIGEINCE WILL HIT PADDY PRODUCTION; CHEMICAL FERTILIZER SHORTAGE CONTINUES DURING PADDY TRANSPLANTING SEASON Kathmandu, 23 June: Farmers will not be able to receive chemical fertilisers in the paddy season, which is a major crop of the country, due to the negligence of the government. "We started the purchasing process three days back, but it will take 30-40 days for the fertilisers to reach the farmers," said managing director of Agriculture Input Company (AIC) Shashi Raj Tuladhar. The state entity has started the process of buying di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea from India Potas Ltd (IPL), which had earlier supplied fertilisers that weighed less. Ministry of Agriculture Development had blacklisted IPL on March 16 when it found that the company had supplied 50 kg sacks with fertilisers that actually weighed less by around 2.42 kg. The dispute with IPL hampered the whole import process for next two months. The government only started buying chemical fertilisers in early May but it was too late to manage smooth supply. However, the authority at that time does not accept its ignorance on the matter. Former agriculture minister Ikabal Ahmad Shah said he had started buying fertilisers on time but other authorities do not support his claim. "India had sanctioned 30,000 metric tonnes of DAP to Nepal on May 8, 2012. I don't know why the ministry and AIC could not start the buying process on time," he said, adding that he had done his best during his 21-day tenure. "After I left, prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai took over the responsibility of the ministry, so he is responsible for the scarcity," he said. He also blamed the bureaucracy for not supporting his drive. "India was ready to provide fertilisers but high-level bureaucrats did not bother." Nnnn CAROPET INDUSTRY SEEKS SICK INDUSTRY STATUS Kathmandu, 23 June: Central Carpet Industries Association (CCIA) -- the umbrella body of carpet producers -- has requested the government to treat it carpet industry as a ´sick industry´ and provide facilities accordingly, Republica reports. According to a press release issued on Friday, CCIA has sought the support of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), an apex body of the private sector, to lobby with the government in this regard. “Carpet industry has been hit hard by the shortage of skilled workforce, diminishing international market and weak promotional activities,” Lanka Man Roka, president of the CCIA, said in the release. The CCIA officials, who reached FNCCI office on the day, also requested FNCCI to help them establish the brand of Nepali carpet in the international market. “The industry, which was one of the largest foreign currency earner in the country, has lost its market potentiality. There should be specific measures to revive the industry," Roka said in an interaction with FNCCI officials, according to the release. nnnn ________________________________________ GOVT. FOR NEW RAILWAY ACT THROUGH ORDINANCE Kathmandu, 23 June:: The government is preparing to enact Railway Bill through ordinance, envisioning formation of an autonomous body to construct and manage the railway, and provide fresh impetus to develop mass transportation, Republica reports. The government has already assigned numerous firms to carry out feasibility study for East-West railway system and develop underground Metro train system in the Kathmandu Valley. “We forwarded a draft of the bill to the Ministry of Law and Justice (MoLJ) for its consent on Friday,” said a source at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM). “We will submit it to the cabinet for enactment through ordinance as soon as we get MoLJ´s consent,” the source told Republica. Among others, the bill envisages a Railway Board (RB) to look after all the development and management of the railway in the country. It proposes that that board will be chaired by the Minister for Physical Planning Works and Transport Management. The board will be executing the national-pride projects such as east-west railway, Jayanagar-Bijulpura railway and Kathmandu-Pokhara railway and Kathmandu Metro Railway (KMR). “These are the projects that government has already planned,” the official said. The board can expand and add other projects in the future, if it deems necessary and feasible. As per the act that has been sent to the MoLJ, the seven member board comprises secretary of the MoPPWTM, finance secretary, commerce secretary, home secretary and two railway experts, . “The enactment of bill will lead to the dissolution of Department of Railway (DoR) and Nepal Railway Company Ltd,” one of the officials at the MoPPWTM said. As the DoR was established without any legal provision, it can be dissolved through cabinet decision. Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the MoPPWTM has confirmed that the ministry has pushed for the enactment of railway Bill through ordinance. “This act is necessary to carry out the railway projects. Though we have Railway Act 1961, it has become obsolete,” he said. According to the draft bill, the government will also set up a special fund to support the operations of the RB. It hopes the RB to be self-dependent in the long run. nnnn ________________________________________