PM ABANDONS PLANS TO RESETTLE SQUATTERS IN SUNDHARIGHAT FROM THAPATHALI Kathmandu, 25 July: Prime Minster Baburam Bhattarai Tuesday shelved month-long plans and efforts of government to resettle ‘squatters’ from Thapathlialong Bagmati river to Sundharighat in Lalitpur who came out on street protests against the government plan. Kathmandu Mayor Kesshab Staphit was present at the meeting. Nnnn HOME MINISTRY READIES DRAFT OF ELECTION LAWS Kathmandu, 25 July Albeit late, the Ministry of Home Affairs has prepared the drafts of three ordinances related to the election of the Constituent Assembly and is making preparations to table them in the cabinet this week, Republica reports. A senior official at the Office of the Prime Minister told Republica that the ministry has prepared the draft ordinance of the Constituent Assembly Act, the Voters Roll Act and the Election Act. "We sent back the drafts of the ordinances to the Ministry of Home Affairs, with our inputs in the drafts, on Tuesday," said a senior official at the law ministry preferring anonymity. The government was supposed to come up with laws related to the Constituent Assembly election by June 22 to make the November 22 election possible. The Election Commission has already made it clear that it would not be able to hold the election if the laws and the Interim Constitution are not amended 120 days before the election. EC had given June 22 deadline to the government to amend the laws as the existing ones are related to the Constituent Assembly election held in April 2008. Sources said that the cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday is likely to take up the drafts and decide to send them to the bills committee of the cabinet. "We know that these laws will not be promulgated through ordinances until political parties forge consensus. Yet we want get the drafts of the laws ready," said another official at the Prime Minister´s Office. nnnn ________________________________________ RICE EXPORT WITH QUALITATIVE RESTRCTION Kathmandu, 25 July The government has lifted a four-year-old ban on rice export paving the way for the country to export of upto 10,000 tons of rice from the two customs points - Rasuwa and Tatopani - to China, Bhol Raj POudel writes in Republica. Initially, Ministry of Commerce and Supplies and Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) had proposed that export be opened for 50,000 tons of rice from those customs for this year. But the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) lowered the export ceiling when it issued the final decision. “Traders can now export 5,000 tons of rice from each of the two customs points,” commerce secretary Lal Mani Joshi told Republica on Tuesday. “Prime Minister Babu Ram Bhattarai declined to approve export of 50 thousand tons of rice, citing the rising price of food in the domestic market.” Officials said the amount of export opened was too little for farmers to enjoy better price for their produces. According to MoAD, the country enjoyed food surplus of 443,000 tons in the fiscal year 2010/11. It has forecast a food surplus of about 800,000 tons for previous fiscal year 2011/12, of which 300,000 tons will comprise rice. The preliminary estimation of crops production of MoAD shows that paddy reached 9.45 million tons in the fiscal year 2011/12, up 9.8 percent compared to the previous fiscal year and 21.8 percent compared to the fiscal year 2009/10. “It might lead to unintended consequences,” Joshi said. “Opening export of rice in a large quantity might result in shortage of food in the domestic market.” The government´s decision to lift up the ban has been published in the gazette this week. The Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) is preparing to provide license to the traders. “Traders have to apply to get the license for export of rice and the DoCSM will make a decision to provide license with quota restriction for them to export,” Joshi said. nnnn ________________________________________