Ration Card On Cards
Minister for Commerce and Supplies, Rajendra Mahato, said that the government would soon introduce ration cards for the needy. Talking to a delegation led by the Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights Nepal in the capital, Thursday (Nov 6) he said they were sending a team to India to study the ration card system. He said the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) would cut fuel prices. "The committee formed to look into fuel adulteration would be revamped if it failed to do the assigned work. The assurance came amidst reports that adulterated petrol had caused motorbike engines to cease. Mahato promised to do the needful to establish the Consumer Court, Consumer Commission and the Consumer Protection Department. The memorandum sought the ouster of representatives of the NOC, dealers and petroleum transporters from the committee, stating that their presence would question the credibility of the investigation. The delegation also asked the government to check supply bottlenecks and adulteration of consumer goods. The forum asked the minister to clarify why the prices of kerosene and cooking gas were not decreased. It demanded that goods and services supply commissioners be appointed in every district.
Dr Bhattarai Says Education And Health Are Govt's Own
Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai on Thursday asked private educational institutions of the country to look for "alternative means for [making] investments" as, according to him, it is the state's responsibility to provide basic education and health to its people. The Maoist second-in-command said the [failed] education policy of the past governments had encouraged private investment in the education sector, carefully hinting that the new education policy of the Maoist led government wouldn't require private investment in the same. He thanked the private educational institutions "for the past help and support", and said that they better look for alternatives for their investments. "The state will take the responsibility for providing basic health and education to the people," he said, requesting that the rather novel approach should not be taken in otherwise. Bhattarai made these remarks while speaking at an interaction organized by the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students' Union- Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) in the capital Thursday (Nov 6). At the same program, he disclosed another shocker saying the government is preparing to distribute academic certificates through open universities to those individuals - whom he referred to as "our friends" - who could not receive formal education due to their involvement in the Maoist war. "Our friends who could not pursue education due to their involvement in the armed conflict but have the necessary skills and knowledge should also receive due [academic] recognition," he said, adding that their "skills and knowledge" should be changed into academic degrees and distributed through an open university.
Govt Talks Team In Contact With 14 Armed Groups
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam has revealed that the government has so far established contact with 14 armed groups operating in Terai and eastern hills in an attempt to bring them to the negotiating table. According to him, the government's talks team is preparing to start formal dialogue with the armed outfits very soon. Speaking to reporters after a program in the capital Wednesday (Nov 5), Gautam also said police forces would be mobilized against the armed groups if they refused to sit for talks to resolve the problem. Asked if the government would mobilize the army if talks fail, Gautam said, "Army won't be mobilized. Armed Police Force and Nepal Police are enough [to deal with them." The DPM also dismissed reports that education minister Renu Yadav, who is a member of the government's talks team, has gone to India to meet the leaders of the armed groups as part of the talks preparations. Minister Yadav, according to him, is in India on a private tour.
Disclosure Of Income Sources Must On Property Purchase
Buyers will now have to disclose their sources of income while purchasing properties exceeding a certain limit, after the government introduces a new provision for which it is doing homework. While purchasing house and land worth more than Rs.5 million and a plot of land worth more than Rs.2.5 million, buyers shall compulsorily mention their income sources. Similarly, income source will have to be disclosed for the purchase of a vehicle costing more than Rs 1.5 million. Talking to the media on Wednesday (Nov 5) in the capital, Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai said that the Ministry of Finance will soon implement the new provisions for purchasing land and other property. Dr Bhattarai also said that the provision for voluntarily declaring one's income will be strictly implemented from December 30. For the improvement of the revenue administration, the government will increase monitoring and will stick to the 'reward and punishment policy', the Finance Minister said. In his budget speech for fiscal year 2008/09, the Finance Minister had vowed to make the revenue administration transparent and efficient, saying that the government would adopt the policy of rewarding good civil servants while punishing those indulged in revenue leakages.
Govt To Use Capital Market To Raise Investment
The government has said that it intends to use the resources of the capital market to raise investment for industrial and infrastructure development. Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai said that the government will bring a new policy to use the scattered resources for productive tasks. "Even though this is a communist government, the private properties won't be nationalized. Rather scattered resources will be brought together for capital formation," he said, adding, "The government is not against capitalism. It is against feudalism." He made these remarks inaugurating the Elite Capital Limited, a finance company.
Govt Recalls Envoys From India , US
The government has recalled the ambassadors from India and the United States . According to reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a letter, Monday (Nov 3), recalling them. Currently, Durgesh Man Singh is posted as the Nepalese ambassador to India while Suresh Chalise is posted as the Nepalese ambassador to the United States . Both Singh and Chalise are said to be close to the Nepali Congress (NC) party, which is now in opposition. They had been appointed as ambassadors ten months ago after they cleared the parliamentary hearing process. In the past also, governments use to recall envoys after change in central government as many of the ambassadors are political appointees.
Govt Bans Rallies And Protests In Maitighar Mandala
One of the most favorite spots for protesters and demonstrators has now been made off-limits for them by the government. The District Administration Office of Kathmandu has banned rallies, protests, sit-ins and demonstrations from the roundabout of Maitighar Mandala. Stating that the decision was taken in consideration of the city environment and aesthetic beauty, the DAO has asked protestors to stay away from the place. Khula Manch or the Open Theater, however, has been designated as the alternative to the demonstrators.
MoLTM, Entrepreneurs Disagree On Cutting Transport Fare
A meeting of the Committee for revising public transport fare rate on Monday ended inconclusively Monday (Nov 3). No decision was reached at the meeting today after the transport entrepreneurs disagreed with the proposal of Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM). The MoLTM floated the proposal to decrease the public transport fare rate by the same percent the prices of the petrol and diesel were slashed, i.e. 10 percent. The transport entrepreneurs said that the current rate must be maintained temporarily as the cost in other issues including insurance has increased. They have demanded that a system be arranged to fix the fare in a scientific manner, stating that the fuel prices have decreased twice this week itself. Only yesterday, Transport Management Minister Bhatta said that the government is trying to find a long-term solution by implementing a system that will automatically revise the transport fare with the revision of fuel prices. The MoLTM has handed over the responsibility of the new system to fix the transport fare in a scientific manner to the Institute of Engineering (IOE), Pulchowk. The Department of Transport Management said that the scientific fare rate would be put into practice after the IOE taskforce submits its report. The transport entrepreneurs have also demanded that the policy of accident insurance be reviewed. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Labour and Transport Management Lekh Raj Bhatt Another meeting of the committee has been scheduled to take place within next week. With the cut in the price of aviation turbine fuel, the airlines operators have decided to decrease the surcharge in the airfare by fifty to three hundred rupees. A meeting of the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) held today to review the airfares took the decision to cut back the additional charges taken with the airfare to some level. The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) slashed the prices of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel for the second time in a week on Saturday, keeping up with the dramatic fall in crude oil prices in the international market. Kantipur reports
Four Parties Agree To Delete Provision On Whip In Ca Rules
The big four parties – Maoists, Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) and Nepali Congress (NC) – have agreed not to have any reference to system of party whip in the Constituent Assembly (CA) rules. "We have decided against any reference toward whip. This means there will not be whip system," said Dinanath Sharma, chief whip of the Maoists. Chief whip of opposition NC, Laxman Prasad Ghimire, added that the parties will have their own provision regarding whip in their respective party statutes. "In party statutes, it will be clear on which matters the parties need to issue whip and on which matters the individual members will be allowed to exercise their conscience," he said. Earlier, NC, Maoists and UML were in favor of whip system while MJF and other smaller parties, particularly Madhesi parties, favored allowing members to vote their conscience on important matters during constitution writing. "The delay in formulating CA rules had blocked the process of writing new constitution for long. Now we have reached to one decision. We will now talk with other parties before finalizing it after which the process of constitution writing will start," said MJF chief whip Ram Janam Chaudhary.
