Govt spreads net to snare tax defaulters 

By Satyendra Timilsina

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: With the deadline for the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) to end on February 12, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), has constituted a committee to take action against tax defaulters.

The committee, formed recently, is represented by high-level officials of the IRD, the Revenue Investigation Department (RID) and the Ministry of Finance.

Vidhyadhar Mallik, Director General of the IRD, speaking to The Kathmandu Post, today said that much of the committee’s work would be field-based, and it would be providing support to the IRD’s VDIS monitoring committee headed by Avanindra Kumar Shrestha, Deputy Director General of the IRD.

Mallik said that he was determined to take stern action against tax evaders, and that would begin from Feburary 13. "The officials are waiting for the remaining four days to convince the general public to pay tax, and then the department would initiate action procedures," he said.

The Finance Minister, Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, during last July’s budget presentation for the current fiscal year, had requested citizens to disclose their income sources under a special scheme by last January 13. But the deadline had to be extended by a month on the request of the business community.

The government was able to collect Rs 440 million within the earlier deadline of January 13.

The Finance Minister during the budgetary announcement had stated that the income sources of those individuals who declare their assets under this scheme would not be further investigated.

"The scheme is the last opportunity for declaring income sources, and the deadline will not be extended further," said Mallik firmly. "During the remaining four days, the IRD will concentrate on framing legal procedures on how to deal with the defaulters."

Another source at the IRD informed that a separate investigation committee has been formed in all Inland Revenue Offices, which is expected to trace the tax defaulters.

The source also dismissed the possibility of the CIAA (Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority) using the disclosures made under the VDIS, for its own investigative purposes. "The law clearly states that the documents cannot be used as legal evidence in other cases," he said.

The IRD has already prepared a defaulters’ list of 1000 persons against whom thorough investigations are to be carried out. The individuals in the list, officials say, are thought to have assets disproportionate to their declared sources of income.

The list includes professionals such as doctors, engineers, lawyers and auditors. The IRD has also enlisted government and non-government employees, social workers, teachers, businessmen, industrialists, leaders of political parties, and other tax defaulters.

Tax evasion in Nepal is endemic, and has been a stumbling block to the government’s drive to raise revenue. With the VDIS, the government hopes to correct that situation if everything goes according to plan.

Fate of the old bills still remains unsure

By Yuvraj Acharya

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: The 21st Session of the parliament is commencing on Sunday, which will deal with a crucial vote on the government decision to impose the state of emergency in the country.

The state of emergency, declared by the government on November 26 to quell the Maoist insurgency, have to be ratified with the two thirds of majority of the House of Representatives present in the meeting. That too within three months of its issuance, as per the Article 115 of the Constitution of Nepal, which falls on February 23.

As the ruling Nepali Congress only has a simple majority in the House with 113 members, the approval and the possible extension of emergency would need the support from the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) which commands 68 members.

This would put the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in a tight position as the CPN (UML) has already warned that it would not approve the declaration if the government did not come out with any proper logic on the reasons for declaring the state of emergency and possibly to extend it.

This winter session of the parliament will be more interesting as this will be the first session to have convened during the state of emergency which has drawn a lot of flak from different quarters. But the government is trying its best to convince the opposition parties to approve its declaration.

The government of PM Deuba is also likely to be rapped by his own party members and leaders as has already been indicated in the last two days of the party Central Working Committee meeting. The Koirala camp in the ruling party has already shown their dissent to Deuba and the general secretary has even come out with a strong report against the government. This indicates that the parliament session this time would not be easy for PM Deuba.

As the winter session of the parliament is considered as the ‘bill session’ in parliamentary practice, passing the stuck bills is one of the most important works of the parliament. But ‘Nepal Health Services (Third Amendment) Bill’ 2058 is the only bill registered at the parliament secretariat till today. And there is a less possibility of coming in more bills as the government is concentrating on approving the state of emergency.

Some of the important bills have been under the parliament’s consideration since the 16th session. The bill on regulating the political parties was introduced in the 16th session and approved by the Lower House in the 18th session but is still under consideration of the Upper House.

There are two crucial bills lying in the parliamentary State Affairs Committee - a bill to control corruption and CIAA (Second Amendment) bill.

As Prime Minister Deuba had already promised to introduce necessary bills to control corruption and financial irregularities, the 21st session is likely to pass the CIAA and anti-corruption bills.

The government is also likely to introduce bills to replace the Terrorist and Destructive Activities Ordinance 2001 and ordinance to change some clauses of Financial Act 2001.

The Muluki Ain (Eleventh Amendment) Bill, drafted to give equal property rights to women, has been sent back by the Upper House with suggestion to the Lower House but nothing has happened yet.

If the assurances given by the Prime Minister and the ministers are to be materialised, some more bills have to be introduced in this session. Despite continued demand from the concerned sector, bills to form Dalit and women commissions are yet to be tabled at the parliament.

Since, the oppositions continuously disturbed the last winter session for 57 days, it had to be prorogued without deliberation on a single issue. So, many important bills are still lying in the parliament. And, with the government more engrossed in retaining the state of emergency, the fate of most of these bills still remains unsure.

CAAN for action against 7 airlines

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on Friday recommended the cancellation of Air Operator Certificate of seven private airlines to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation for failing to furnish the clarification sought by the CAAN, according to a statement issued by the authority.

The aviation authority, in a notice published in state-owned Nepali Gorakhapatra daily on 6th December last year, had sought clarification from a number of private airlines. The airlines whose AOC has been recommended to be cancelled are Nepal Trans-Continental Airlines, Air Nepal International, Vanjan Air, Himalayan Helicopter, Garuda Air, Nepal Airways and Everest Air.

The statement added that necessary step is being taken for those airlines which have submitted their clarification.

Nepali colts’ dream run comes to tragic end

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: Nepal’s dream run in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup came crashing down to earth following a massive 137-run defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the Plate Championship final played at Lincoln, New Zealand, on Friday.

Nepali batting, which had been called ‘suspect’ even before the start of the tournament, finally showed its flaws as the team was bundled out for a mere 110 runs in reply to the 247 runs put up by Zimbabwe for the loss of just one wicket, said agency reports.

Things hardly moved Nepal’s way right from the morning as Zimbabwe skipper Tatenda Taibu, later adjudged Player of the Tournament, won the all-important toss and decided to bat.

Taibu’s decision to bat proved right as the opening duo of Brendon Taylor and Charles Coventry smashed the Nepali medium pacers all round the park to take the Zimbabwe score to 97 by the end of 15 overs.

Taylor, Man of the Match for the day, was particularly impressive with his shot selection and remained unbeaten on 100, reaching the milestone off the last ball of the Zimbabwe innings.

The 16-year-old schoolboy showed good temperament as he forged a 112-run opening partnership with Coventry (64) and gathered 135 more runs in the company of his captain, Taibu. Taylor scored his first 50 off 88 balls, and then stepped on the accelerator in the slog overs, taking only 42 balls more to reach his century, with just five fours in all.

His opening partner Coventry showed more aggression as he stroked 9 fours and a six in his 79-ball stay.

The only good news for Nepal was in the performance of their tweakers. The duo of Shakti Gauchan and Sanjam Regmi, who have been the meanest of the bowlers in the championship, again proved to be economic as they checked the Zimbabwe innings in the middle stages. Zimbabwe, from 97 without any loss at the end of 15 overs, were restricted to 128 for one at the end of 30. While Regmi took the only wicket for Nepal giving away 33 runs in 10 overs, Gauchan’s 10-over spell cost him 32 runs.

On the other hand, the three medium pacers—Binod Das, Pramod Basnet and Manjit Shrestha—gave away a total of 94 runs in the 13 overs that they bowled.

The Nepali batsmen, chasing the stiffest target in the championship so far, began badly as Yashwant Subedi (5) was trapped leg before to A Mbwembe in the fourth over. The loss of that wicket with just 12 runs on board set the cat among the pigeons as wickets started tumbling fast. By the end of the 13th over, Nepali prospects looked bleak at 43 for 4 after W Mwayenga wreaked havoc taking the wickets of Kanishka Chaugain (12) and Prem Chaudhary (0) in the space of three balls. In all, Mwayenga had three scalps to his credit.

Gauchan, who had contributed notably with the red cherry, tried to steady the ship with his skipper Das (24) scoring a brisk 30 runs (41 balls), and forging a 28-run stand for the 5th wicket. But that was hardly going to be enough as the Zimbabwe bowlers ran through the bottom half for just 39 more runs.

Nepali coach Roy Dias, who had called Nepali batting as the ‘weak link’ prior to the team’s departure for the championship, again blamed poor batting for the big loss. He also rued that Nepal lost the toss.

"My fear was always batting, it was a pity we lost the toss," said Dias. "But Zimbabwe deserved to win, they outplayed us."

UML pulls up govt for inefficiency

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: At the time when the ruling Nepali Congress is debating on the reports saying that the government has failed to rule the country, the main opposition CPN (UML) too has pointed its finger at the efficiency of the government.

In the report presented today by Party General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal in the first day of the Central Committee meeting, it is mentioned that the situation of the country has deteriorated more than that of pre- emergency period.

" The government has not taken it seriously and sincerely", the report said adding that the government is indifferent to the fact and depending on the army without initiating any political process.

The report also said that the deteriorating situation of the country has been capitalised by the ultra leftists and the ultra rightists. " Maoists are gradually transforming themselves into a terrorist group degenerating from the political sphere", the report said, claiming that their indifferent attitude to their terrorist acts proved the fact.

According to a Central Committee member, the report of the general secretary Nepal presented details on the efforts made by the party during the emergency to make the government aware of the people’s grievances and to unite the opposition political parties in order to pressurise the government.

The report of the party general secretary assessed the recent SAARC summit as highly dominated by Indo- Pak tension and criticised Nepal’s presence weak and ineffective.

The report also stressed for a programmatic broader national consensus among the political parties in the field. In the report, comprehensive - economic reforms, immediate action to control corruption and programmes for immediate relief to the people was also stressed. A need for Constitution amendment to ensure these reforms and ensure free and fair election through an ad hoc government for the election purpose, was also stressed.

In regard to party unity with its splinter CPN- ML, a report was presented by party standing committee member Bharat Mohan Adhikari and suggested that unification had to be materialised at the earliest possible time. "But there are still some issues to be discussed in the party over the ML conditions to name the coming seventh general convention as "Seventh General Conference of Unity’ and different views on Mahakali Treaty to continue unto the next conference, a Central committee member said.

Meanwhile, the minority leader in the CPN (ML) CP Mainali has announced that a formation reorganise of a new party with new people’s program would be announced on the very day UML and ML declare unification. According our reporter in Birtamod, Mainali, who has been gradually loosing his grip in the party since 1972, branded the UML- ML unification as " lust for power" and "facilitated by consumptionist culture".

He also blamed the CPN-(UML) as being revisionist and the Maoists as ultra leftist fundamentalists even as he called upon the party cadres help reorganise an alternative communist force.

Mainali claimed that the CPN (UML), which has been close to Nepali Congress in terms of ideology, could not represent the people’s voices.

He also called on the Maoists to lay down their arms and resume peace talks with the government.

A reservoir at Andhikhola is what the dry season needs

By Om Prakash Sharma

SYANGJA, Feb 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state- owned power utility, has asked the government to develop the 176 megawatts Andhikhola Reservoir Hydropower Project (ARHP).

Recently, the NEA and the Australian Consultant Company–Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation–jointly completed the first phase of feasibility studies of ARHP with financial support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Most of the hydropower projects, except for the 92 MW Kulekhani Reservoir Hydropower Project, are run-of-river projects, and they cannot meet power demands during the dry season because of low volumes of waters in the snow-fed and other rivers.

Water resources experts have been pointing out the need for another reservoir-based hydel project to maintain constant supply of power even during the lean season. NEA authorities are of the opinion that the cost of the proposed Andhikola Reservoir Project will be cheaper compared to the investment cost of the country’s biggest ever 144 MW Kaligandaki "A" Hydropower Project, which is scheduled to generate power by March this year. The estimated cost of the proposed Andhikhola Project would be around Rs 32.440 billion. The cost of the Kaligandaki "A" hydel project was about Rs 25 billion.

Director of the Kaligandaki "A" hydel project, Dr. Jibendra Jha, says the cost of the ARHP will be fairly low because it is situated close to the Kaligandaki "A" project, and it does not have to develop additional infrastructures.

Dr. Jha says all the infrastructure developed earlier by the Kaligandaki "A" Project such as the 28-km-long link road, quarters and offices, about 2,000 ropanies of land, transmission lines to Butwal and Pokhara, can be utilised by the ARHP. Besides, the proposed project will also have an additional advantage of skilled labour force readily available in the locality.

Officials at the Directorate of Project Preparation, Survey and Studies of the NEA, say that the 176 MW ARHP is being developed considering the nature of the existing run-of-river type projects, which produce low amount of power during the dry season.

According to the feasibility study, a 162-metre-high dam will be constructed on the Andhikhola River at Chhatri, about one-and-half km upstream the confluence of the Kaligandaki and Andhikhola rivers at Mirmi, and rainwater will be collected in a reservoir occupying 6.22 square kilometres of the area upstream.

The stored water will be channelled towards a powerhouse at Baltuk through a 3.26-km-long and 6.2-diametre tunnel to generate the power. Four turbines having 44 MW capacity each will be generating 176 MW of power during the dry season. After generating the power, the water will be discharged into the Kaligandaki River. The power from the ARHP will be connected to the National Power Grid through 10-km-long transmission lines of 132 KV to a sub-station to be built near the Kaligandaki "A" project.

The officials concerned are of the view that the project could be completed within four years because it need not develop any additional physical facilities. The officials involved in the project’s feasibility study claim that the water of the Kaligandaki River could also be lifted to the reservoir in case of low volume of water in the Andhikhola River during the dry season.

A private consultant company–Metcon Consultant Pvt. Ltd.–has been assigned to carry out studies for mitigating any environmental impacts arising out of the project.

If the ARHP kicks off, the functioning 5.1 MW hydro project, developed earlier by Butwal Power Company, the state-owned power enterprise, will have to be shut down as the proposed high dam will submerge the dam of the micro hydro project. Dr. Jha says that the proposed project, which will become the country’s biggest hydropower project, will occupy a total of 585 hectares of land, including farmland, forest and residential area.

He says that the reservoir will submerge a small bazaar situated on the banks of the Andhikhola River at Galyang, and around 50 other houses at Ilangu village will be partially affected.

Around 1,200 families of seven VDCs will be affected by the project. Jha adds that the people likely to be affected by the project will have to be relocated elsewhere with adequate amount of compensation, and environmental mitigation measures have to be carried out simultaneously.

Lawmaker, Sankar Prasad Pandey, who represents the locality in the House of Representatives, says the project is in the national interest, and it would definitely generate a lot of employment opportunities in the entire western region of the country.

Lawyers cry foul at govt decision

Post Report

KATHMANDU , Feb 8: Advocates, in their plea on a case concerning the transfer of staff from National Investigation Department to Nepal Police and Special Police Department, have claimed that the government has misused power while making the decision.

Advocate Balaram KC pleading on behalf of the Special Police Department claimed that the norms of the rule of law was breached by the decision.

"There is no relation between the staff working under a Special Service Act and the Nepal Police", KC claimed. "The court should not remain silent in such a case where the executive has violated the law"

Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka had made it that the government on January 9 had decided to transfer 59 employees of Investigation Department to Nepal Police and other 91 employees to Special Police.