Govt gives go-ahead to Deuba

 By Prateek Pradhan

KATHMANDU, July 24 - At a time when former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was complaining against of government’s apathy to push-ahead dialogue with the Maoists, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala extended him a letter providing full authority to pursue dialogue with the Maoists.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post at his residence today Sher Bahadur Deuba, who heads an eight-member High Level Consensus Seeking Commission to resolve Maoists issues, said that the situation took a significant turn after he received a letter from the Prime Minister and added that he would convene the Commission’s meeting in a day or two.

The new mandate to the Commission came as a surprise to Deuba as Minister for Information and Communication and spokesman of the Girija cabinet, Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta criticized Deuba Commission vehemently only yesterday for its ineffectiveness to pursue dialogue with the Maoists.

The government’s move to provide full authority to Deuba for the talks could be an initiative to control the growing row within the ruling Nepali Congress over the issue of tackling Maoist insurgency. The move could also create understanding in the ruling party before the Prime Minister’s India visit, scheduled for July 31.

Following the much sought-after mandate from the government, Deuba said he was now hopeful to succeed table talks between the government and Maoist insurgents. "It’s my sincere feelings that table-talks would reduce our differences because there is no way out to safeguard our national interest," he said.

Though Sher Bahadur Deuba declined to disclose the content of the letter, our sources said that the brief letter has asked the former prime minister to go ahead with the talks. The letter was delivered to Deuba through Home Minister Govind Raj Joshi late afternoon today.

The Maoist leader Prachanda had written a letter to Deuba about a month and half ago about the Maoists’ intention to sit across the table with the government.

Deuba handed over the letter to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. But the much talked-about dialogue could not materialize and the government and Commission started trading allegations against each other for not being serious about the dialogue.

Maoists leader Prachanda, in his letter to the Commission had demanded bare minimum conditions to pursue the talks. According to our source, the minimum conditions include: ceasefire from the date talks begin, detailed whereabouts of all the detained and missing Maoist cadres and judicial probe into the various incidents, including the Khara village arsoning.

Following the fresh mandate from Prime Minister, the talks with Maoists insurgents looks possible in the very near future. "I hope Maoists will send their high-level representation for the talks," Deuba said.

However, Deuba said he had no knowledge about the reported Maoists dialogue team comprising of politburo members Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Ram Bahadur Thapa. "The Maoists’ last letter didn’t include the names of dialogue team," he said.

Govt presents loan documents to NRC

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 24 - The government today presented copies of the loan agreement signed with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the parliamentary Natural Resources Committee (NRC).

Demands by the opposition parties for details on the loan agreement, that according to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) official could lead to hike in electricity tariff by as much as 30 percent, stalled the parliamentary proceedings for nearly a week.

Chairman of the committee Lekh Nath Acharya ruled that the government make copies of the agreement available to all the 205 lawmakers of the House of Representatives, the Lower House of Parliament.

"With the permission of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the committee directs the government to make the copies available to the lawmakers before the House convenes," Acharya said.

During the brief meeting, members of the opposition and the ruling parties could not decide on how the copies should be presented to the full House. But later decided unanimously to have the document presented through the committee.

The committee that has two former water resources ministers — Pradeep Nepal who is also a politburo member of the CPN-UML and Pashupati Sumshere Rana, vice president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) — had asked the government make copies of the agreement available to the committee.

Minister for Water Resources Khum Bahadur Khadka, Minister of State for Water Resources Ram Bahadur Gurung, Secretary at the Minister of Water Resources Biswonath Sapkota and Secretary at the Finance Ministry Bimal Nath Koirala were also present during today’s meeting.

The committee members will review the documents and begin discussion on the agreement on Friday.

The main opposition CPN-UML and other opposition parties have been stalling the House of Representatives proceeding since last week demanding the details on the loan signed.

Things heated up after Minister of State Gurung admitted at the Parliament that the ADB had called for "adjustment" of the tariff if necessary to meet the figures set by it, make necessary changes in the Electricity Tariff Fixation Regulations and get the Electricity Leakage Control Bill through the Parliament at the earliest.

Representatives of ADB and the Finance Ministry had signed a US dollar 50 million (around Rs 3.5 billion) loan last week to fund rural electrification and power sector reform programs under the government’s Eighth Power Project.

When the ADB loan was sanctioned over two years back, the lending agency had demanded that the Self Financing Ratio (SFR) be 23 percent compared to the 13 percent at present and Rate of Return (RoR) to 6 percent which is 2 percent at present. According to NEA, this would have calculated the price of electricity to be hiked by 60 percent.

Last year, the government hiked the price of electricity up to 30 percent (25 percent for Industrial purposes and 30 percent for general consumers). At present, a unit of electricity costs Rs. 6.50 on an average which, even by official admission, makes Nepal’s price the costliest in South Asia and among the costliest in the world.

No plans to hike electricity tariff

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 24 - Minister for Water Resources Khum Bahadur Khadka today announced in Parliament that the government had no plans to increase electricity tariff.

"Neither the government nor Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is in the process of increasing electric tariff," Minister Khadka told the House of Representatives.

He said that NEA has to first apply with the Electricity Tariff Fixing Committee to increase the tariff which takes at least three months.

"The government at the moment is concentrating on reforms in NEA, controlling leakage of electricity, efficient management of the corporation and recovering payment from defaulters ... we will try to meet the conditions set by ADB through this process," the minister said.

In the section of financial covenants section on the agreement, ADB has said that NEA will have to make timely adjustments in the tariff as necessary for NEA to achieve the figures from fiscal year 2001 set by ADB.

"The government will not make a unpopular move like increasing tariff right now," he said. "The tariff is already high at the moment and we are not going to put additional burden on the consumers."

Former Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat today revealed that the previous government had rejected the same conditions when it was in power.

"We had blocked this loan earlier due to the unacceptable conditions set by ADB then. We have the tendency to accept conditions that are set by the donor but we need to prepare ourselves to avoid these types of conditions," Mahat said.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s Prakash Chandra Lohani said that though the Minister says that the tariff will not increase, he needs to give a more convincing commitment so that the tariff won’t be increased after the House is prorogued.

PAC probes BRCP ‘irregularities’

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 24 - The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today began to look into documents on the case related to alleged financial irregularities at the Bakrah River Control Project (BRCP).

The committee is probing into why an extension project had been added to the BRCP without first calling for tender bids and through open competition as required by the Financial Regulations.

The China Hunan International Economic Technical Corporation (CHIETC) had been awarded the contract for Rs. 114.7 million for a project to supplement the BRCP.

BRCP was first started about two and half years ago with the aid provided by OPEC, the group of oil producing nations. CHIETC had begun work on the project for Rs. 337.4 million, which was 34 percent less than the amount estimated for the project and granted by OPEC. The surplus money was now being used for projects to supplement the original project.

PAC is not questioning the use of money for the additional project but investigating possible irregularities on why the project was granted without open competition as required by the law but through negotiations only with one party.

"It was the demand of the local people and technical needs that prompted us to extend the project and since we did not have time to call for tender bids, it had been decided to grant the additional project to the same contractor," Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources Biswonath Sapkota told the committee.

Sapkota said that since the time for completion of work on the project had already been extended by two years and had to be completed by the end of 2001, it was not possible to spare 10 months or so for the bidding and tender process.

"If we had called for the tender we could not have completed the work in time and to save the work that had already been done, the government acted promptly and granted the contract to the same contractor," Sapkota said.

The contractor at present has already completed 15-20 percent of work that is worth about Rs. 20 million. However new documents revealed that there had been claims by the project that work worth Rs. 40 million had been completed already in the first 10 days of the project.

Secretary Sapkota said he did not know what the issue and claim was about but promised to provide details in the next PAC meeting later this week.

PAC members questioned on why such a big additional work that had not been foreseen in preliminary detailed studies had to be undertaken.

The summoned officials admitted that the contract for the original project was drawn in haste and that detail and comprehensive study had not been conducted. They said that since the Nunsari River had to be diverted to the main river and anti erosion work had never been planned before the new projects had to be introduced later.

NWSC to be privatized

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 24 - The government is going to privatize Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) within this year, said a government official here today.

Coordinator of government formed Private Sector Participation High Level Committee (PSPC) R K Siddhi said the government plans to privatize NWSC to address the needs of the poor in the context of planned management of urban water supply.

According to Lazana Manandhar, director of LUMANTI - an NGO working with squatter and slum communities, a regulatory body will be formed to look after the private owned NWSC. "This body will work as a liaison between the people and NWSC," she said.

The participants in a workshop, jointly organized by LUMANTI, Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) and Water Aid - Nepal, to disseminate information on the water and sanitation of the urban poor, urged NWSC to be transparent.

At the function, findings of a research study on the water supply and sanitation situation of the urban poor of Kathmandu valley were discussed. The findings revealed that the poor have little access to NWSC supplies, and rely on other sources.

"The subsidized tariffs designed to benefit the poor are not reaching them and the most common source of water in many communities was shallow tubewells," the study revealed.

The study was carried out this month in 11 slum and squatter communities and three middle class water scarce communities of the Valley.

Re-arrest of acquitted persons slammed

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 24 -Participants at the Eighth Judges’ conference today raised the issue of violation of basic rights enshrined in the constitution by repeated cases of re-arrest of people acquitted by courts.

Harihar Dahal, President of Nepal Bar Association said increasing cases of re-arrest of people acquitted by courts should also be raised along with the five other issues to be discussed in the three-day conference. He added the cases of re-arrest of citizens was a matter of grave concern and challenge to judiciary.

"There should be no interference of police and administration in the dispensation of justice," said Dahal. He also said Justice Administration Bill, based on the Court Management Report, should be passed in the current session of the Parliament.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking police officer, requesting anonymity said they had no option but to re-arrest those people who create terror in society. He said these people get acquitted due to lack of evidence. "The incident at Sindhupalchowk might not have occurred had we arrested those released by the court," he said, adding "there is no proper law to check this loophole."

Four policemen were killed and seven others injured in a clash with Maoist rebels at Thokapara in Sindhupalchowk on July 15. The police post was bombed too.

However, Dilip Kumar Shrestha, Senior Superintendent of Police and spokesman at the Police Headquarters said the police had not heard of any re-arrest after court acquittal. He also denied there was any connection between court acquittal and Sindhupalchowk incident.

Back at the conference, Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyay said there has to be healthy criticism of the judiciary which would help in its reforms. But, he added, this freedom cannot be misused to criticise judiciary with personal prejudices.

He also said lack of financial and material facilities have hindered the reforms process in courts.

The Chief Justice said there is a tendency to fingerpoint the court for the ills of other sectors of the nation, which is dangerous.

CJ Upadhyay also said that agencies and officials should embrace the principles and ideals of the Constitution while using State power. The conduct and activities of these officials cannot be improved by Constitution and words of law alone, added Upadhyay.

"A fine balance between swift and easy justice, and its quality has to be maintained by the judiciary," said the Chief Justice.

He also spoke of the need to make the judiciary responsive to people’s aspirations "in this age of globalisation".

Medical Council starts listing medics

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 24 - Nepal Medical Council (NMC) has started ‘pre-provisional registration’ of the medics after a court order.

NMC had earlier denied registration saying the medical practitioners went to study MD in the former USSR without completing ISc.

"We have started registration in accordance with the mandamus and the subsquent direction from the Ministry of Health," said Dr Baburam Marasini, registrar of NMC.

A ministerial level decision on July 20 had given direction to NMC for the pre-provisional registration which requires students to work for six-months (without pay) in hospitals as stipulated by the Health Ministry under the supervision of senior medics.

Marasini said, "We will ask the Ministry to send the medics to work in those hospitals only which are recognised by NMC."

The medical students filed a writ petition ten months ago at the Supreme Court and the Court on May 17 issued mandamus to the Health Ministry and the NMC to register the writ petitioners.

The court in its mandamus had also stated that the petitioners had gone to study with the permission from the Ministry of Education and accordingly obtained foreign exchange facilities from the Nepal Rastra Bank.

Medics can be recognized as practitioners only after they are registered in the NMC.

Fire breaks out at Patan

LALITPUR, July 24 (PR) - A three-storey-house here at Tanani, Patan Dhoka was in alarms this afternoon after a fire broke out at the house damaging property worth some Rs. 2,50,000.

The ill-fated house at Tanani-22 was shared by three brothers of a Maharjan family - Krishna, Macha Kaji and Gwara. The fire first caught the top storey and later spread towards the lower ones, police involved in the rescue said. No loss of lives have been reported so far.

The traditional-style house had tile-roof. Hay had been stacked on the rooftop for drying, locals said. The cause of the fire, however, is still unknown, said Ward Chairman Buddhi Raj Maharjan.

According to Lalitpur Fire Brigade Station, it took almost two hours to extinguish the fire. One fire engine from Kathmandu and two from Patan were used in extinguishing the fire.

Radisson Hotel floats shares today

KATHMANDU, July 24 (PR)- Oriental Hotels Limited, managed by Radisson Hotel, is floating its 1.25 million public shares each quoting 100 par value starting Tuesday.

According to a press release issued here today, NIDC Capital Markets Ltd. has been appointed as the issue manager.

The application would remain open for atleast seven days as per the guidelines of Nepal Securities Board. The shares has already been underwritten by twenty-one banking and financial institutions.

Farmers unhappy on Kamaiyas’ emancipation

DHANGADI, July 24 (PR) - Kamaiyas’ achievement of their much desired freedom has left many in the country exhilarated. It is the farmers who are less jubilant.

Farmers in this far-western district are now challenging the government’s decision to free the Kamaiyas from their debts.

Bracing the slogan -- "Let us, all farmers of the country unite for the rights of the farmers," Farmers Rights Protection Forum the farmers organisation has decided to call on Kamaiyas occupying their master’s land and houses to immediately vacate.

They have termed the decision to free Kamaiyas as a "populist step" rather than "legally appropriate" one and that the government had been making discriminatory decisions against the farmers. "The decision is politically motivated and not legally viable," said Hem Prasad Upreti, chairman of the farmer’s forum.

"We will be fighting for our rights in a peaceful way," said Prem Raj Joshi, a member of the forum.