STREETS DESERTED FOR SECOND CONSECITIVE DAY Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: Vehicles were off the streets nation-wide for the second consecutive day Saturday creating severe problems for commuters. Two round of talks spread over two days between government and . transport workers and entrepreneurs have failed to break the strike Transport entrepreneurs are pressing like demands for bifurcation of transport into two ministries, scrapping a system of commission for traffic police from fines collected drivers and other demands. nnnn GOVT. LPG DEALERS’ TALKS Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: Government is holding talks with LPG dealers Saturday to discuss 16 demands of the latter;. The dealers’ strike has created a scarcity after supply normalized earlier this year following extreme shortage for nearly four months. Demands if dealers include increased commission for sale. nnnn SUSHIL KOIRALA HITS OUT AT FEDERAL ALLIIANCE Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: A day after parties in the ruling coalition huddled together in a bid to form what they said a ‘federalists’ alliance’, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala took a pot shot at them, saying the move was nothing but a ploy to prolong their stay in the incumbent government, The Himalayan Times reports. “It’s but a bid to sell a fanciful idea, which no one will buy. Why do they need to form an alliance; they did it when they joined hands to form the government,” said Koirala while interacting with reporters after launching a book titled Koirala’s Novels on Eastern Philosophical Values penned by Narayan Chalise. “What do they want? Pull the wool over everyone’s eyes and continue the incumbent government?” he wondered. The ruling parties, who have labelled the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML as anti-federalist forces, did not invite them in yesterday’s meeting. “NC and UML who they portray as anti-federalist parties are ‘the federalist forces in real sense’ because we have been pitching for such federalism which suits Nepal’s diversity and which is economically viable,” justified Koirala. “The Maoists have been calling for single ethnicity-based federalism which is unacceptable to us.” Koirala also tried to clear the air, saying NC never agreed for directly-elected presidential system. “Such a system could invite autocracy,” he said. “The issue was hugely debated before the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly but NC never agreed. NC, as a matter of fact, has been insisting on an improved parliamentary system with prime minister as the executive head. In Nepal’s context such a system maintains checks and balances.” Dahal hopes oppn will join KATHMANDU: Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Friday that the Federal Democratic Alliance was formed to ensure federalism with identity and a constitution with federalism. Talking to journalists after attending a programme organised by Lokgatha Samaj in the Capital, Dahal said FDA was needed to practically implement federalism, as envisioned by the Interim Constitution. “Such an alliance is needed to empower people. This is not against any political force. It will only ensure people’s rights,” said Dahal. The Maoist chairman expressed confidence that the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML also would join the FDA. nnnn APPOINTMENT REQUEST AT CHIEF JUSTICE REQUEST Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: What appears to be a quid pro quo, the government has prepared an ordinance for the appointment of Supreme Court Justices, heads and members of constitutional bodies and ambassadors without the mandatory parliamentary hearing at Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi’s request, Ananta Raj Luitel writes in The Himalayan Times. Once the ordinance comes into force, both the government and the judiciary will benefit — the government will be able to appoint chiefs and members of the constitutional bodies and ambassadors and the Judicial Council will be able to appoint SC justices. As many as 19 positions of SC justices out of total 25 will fall vacant in January, hence the CJ is learnt to have asked Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who also looks after the law portfolio, to do the needful to avoid crisis in the judiciary. The only six justices who will remain in the office will not be able to handle as many as 12,000 cases already under consideration in the apex court. The ordinance will, according to sources, clear the hurdle of parliamentary hearing in the absence of Parliament. “The government initiative to bring the ordinance is based on CJ’s request,” a highly placed source in the judiciary told The Himalayan Times. “The Supreme Court is going to face a dearth of justices after January. So, there was no other option before the CJ than to request the prime minister,” he added. The judiciary leadership had floated three options — invoking presidential power to bypass the parliamentary hearing, direct appointment (of justices) by JC, escaping the hearing process and bringing an ordinance. The government chose the last and the easiest option, said sources. “The ordinance, we hope, will soon come into force after the President approves it,” Prakash Pundit, Under Secretary, Law Section, Prime Minister’s Office, said. Another source close to the prime minister said the prime minister would hand over the law portfolio to Finance Minister Barshaman Pun to facilitate judges’ appointment. Legal experts say it will be the real experiment of the doctrine of necessity in the country. “This is the real test of the doctrine of necessity as this move will help save the judiciary from being vacant in the absence of Parliament,” former attorney general Sushil Pant said. “ Former president of Nepal Bar Association, Shambhu Thapa, however, opposed the idea, saying it would promote anarchy. “Those ad hoc SC judges who had gone through the parliamentary hearing can be given permanent appointment even without the hearing process,” said Thapa, adding that no new appointments can be made through an ordinance as such move will be against the fundamental features of the constitution. Invoking presidential power to remove difficulties will be the best option to avoid the vacuum in the judiciary, he said. nnnn NEPAL.CHINA AGREE TO ADVANCE 750 MW WEST SETI Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: Nepal and China have agreed to advance work on the West Seti Hydroelectricity Project, nearly five months after the two countries signed an understanding to award the China Three Gorges Corporation with the 750 MW Project, Purna Basnet writes in Republica from Hon Kong. Hariram Koirala, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, said that the two sides agreed to hold next round of bilateral talks and sign a formal agreement in Kathmandu soon. According to him, the talks in Beijing this week was part of an effort to lay the groundwork for Kathmandu meeting. The Koirala-led Nepali delegation had reached Beijing on Wednesday and held talks with the representatives from the main investor of the project, China Three Gorges Corporation, China Development Bank and the Exim Bank for three days. Prime Minister´s Economic Advisor Rameshware Khanal and Chief Executive Officer at the Investment Board Radhesh Pant were included in the Nepali team. They held separate talks with Cao Guang Jing, Board Chairman of the China Three Gorges Corporation, and the company´s President Chen Fei. The Nepali team also held separate talks with officials from the two banks. "We have reached an agreement in principle to activate the understanding on West Set project. They [officials from the Three Gorges] have good expectations from the project," Koirala told Republica on Friday evening. According to him, the two sides reached understanding on two major issues. "This time, officials from the Three Gorges have agreed in principle to synchronize the component of building transmission line with the entire project and the Chinese Exim Bank has become positive toward providing soft loan to Nepal," he said. The Ministry of Energy (MOE) and China Three Gorges Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) about five months ago to construct 750 MW West Seti Project in a Private Public Partnership model. This time the China Three Gorges Corporation invited the Nepali side to Beijing with a plan to discuss the project in detail. The China Three Gorges is making 75 percent investment in the West-Seti project in which the total investment is estimated around 1.2 trillion rupees. The Nepal Electricity Authority will investment the remaining 25 percent. Following the bilateral agreement, the parliament´s Committee on Natural Resources and Means had directed the government to take the project ahead through the Investment Board and hold fresh rounds of talks with the Chinese side accordingly. Koirala said the talks were held in accordance with the parliamentary committee´s suggestions to use the electricity produced by West Seti in Nepali market. They talked to Chinese side about transmitting the electricity from the Doti-based project to the national grid in Butwal. "Producing electricity from a hydroelectric project alone is not enough. Therefore, our talks were mainly focused on transmission line and it is fruitful for us because they [Chinese side] are positive on the matter," said Koirala. "Official from the Chinese banks had talked about providing commercial loans but later they became positive on the process of soft loans after they studied a proposal from the Nepal government on the matter." Koirala also informed that a high-level team from China will arrive in Kathmandu to hold further talks on the agreement that they reached in principle during the present visit and to finalize them in writing. The government is mulling over taking the West Seti Project ahead through the Investment Board as the government has passed a policy of undertaking all the projects with capacity over 500 MW. Investment of China Three Gorges in the mega project has been watched keenly because this is the first big hydro project to be developed by a Chinese company in Nepal. Nnnn MoI STARTS VERIFICATION OF INDUSTRIES Kathmandu, 11 Aug.: Ministry of Industry (MoI) has started studying applications from 29 business firms, which claim themselves to be sick industry, in a bid to assess whether they are truly ´sick´ and deserve relief package that the government has committed for sick industries, Repubica reports. “We have initiated verification of industries that have lodged applications for the facility,” Surya Kant Jha, under secretary at the MoI told Republica. “We will come up with preliminary findings based on the information that the industries have provided to us.” However, officials at the MoI failed to clarify how they will judge whether the applicant is sick, for neither the ministry nor any other authority have developed clear guidelines and parameters to do so. Interestingly, the 29 firms that have applied for the facility include units such as The Fulbari Resort, whose owner is an infamous bank loans defaulter, and Shree Distillery, whose owner is a well-known tax evader. Going by the existing directives of the government, which bars loans defaulters from any state facility, the ministry should not have accepted their applications in the very first place. But the MoI officials said they are considering their applications for the facility as well. “It is true we have not developed criteria for sick industries yet, but we will come up with parameters to gauge them based on the preliminary findings of those firms” Jha said. But other officials raised concern over such approach of the MoI. “The approach would have been correct had the ministry first developed a set of parameters to gauge and evaluate the industries to ascertain whether or not they are sick,” said an official. "The ministry is now saying it will develop parameters based on the study of applicant firms. This approach is wrong because it raises chances of thus developed parameters to be faulty,” he added. The sick-industries unit at the MoI and the technical committee had came into existence after the cabinet last year approved a report of the high-level task force that was formed to revive and rehabilitate sick-industries. Under the relief program, the government has committed to provide multiple relief packages to the sick industries such as tax waiver, extension of loans repayment date, restructuring of bank loans and waiver of interest, among others. However, the program has not been implemented due to the failure of the government in defining what sort of and which actually are sick industries. Nnnn ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ MEDIA GOOGLE “If you work hard, and put your heart and soul into it... then you are allowed to steal some. But don’t be a bandit.” (India’s Minister from State UP Minister Shiva Singh Yadav, Reuters report, The Himalayan Times, 1 Aug.) Nnnn