HM grants audience

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS): His Majesty the King granted audience to ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Nepal Wolf Rudiger Georg Lemp at the Royal Palace this evening.

Likewise, His Majesty the King granted audience to Israeli ambassador Avraham Nir at the Royal Palace this evening.

His Majesty appoints

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS): His Majesty the King has, in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal l990, appointed Lila Prasad Sharma as Royal Nepalese Ambassador to the Russian Federation.

This is stated in a notice issued today by the Principal Press Secretariat of His Majesty the King.

Decision to dissolve APROSC

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS): A decision has been taken to dissolve the Agriculture Projects Services Centre (APROSC) Pvt. Ltd. under the Company Act-2053 B.S. and hand over its entire property to the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

According to a statement issued today by the Ministry, a special general meeting of APROSC held on Jan. 2 had decided to agreed to the proposal of NARC to accept APROSC property and shares for Rs. 93.5 million and to provide all APROSC employees a lumpsum amount at the rate of 1.5 month's pay for every working year besides the facilities entitled to as per regulations. For this Rs. 60 million would be sought from NARC as a first installment.

The meeting also decided to allow partial use of APROSC property (building) if NARC so wishes, and following payment of the entire amount APROSC would be dissolved as per the Company Act-2053 B.S. and handed over to NARC through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

APROSC was established in 2031 B.S. under the joint share investment of His Majesty's Government, Nepal Rastra Bank, the Agriculture Development Bank, Nepal Bank Ltd. and Rastriya Banijya Bank with the objective of providing services to His Majesty's Government and others seeking consultancy.

But taking into consideration that the situation does not call for continued running of APROSC, the special general meeting held on March 9, 2000 decided to close it down after fulfilling all the necessary procedures.

Israeli envoy calls on Acharya

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS): Ambassador of Israel to Nepal Avraham Nir paid a courtesy call on Finance and Defense Minister Mahesh Acharya at the Finance Ministry today.

Matters relating to mutual friendly relations and cooperation between Nepal and Israel and peace and security were discussed during the meeting, according to the Finance Ministry.

RNAC to increase flights

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Jan 12. Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation will increase flights as well as begin flying to new destinations from March 2001, a press-release of the corporation said today.

Flights to New Delhi will increase from 12 flights a week to 14, according to the airlines. Similarly one more flight will be added to Bangalore, bringing it to three. Weekly flights to Mumbai from Kathmandu will also increase from 3 to 4, Singapore from 2 to 3 and Hongkong from 3 to 4.

With the induction of the new Boeing 767 in December, RNAC has also decided to fly twice weekly directly to Osaka, Japan. Only a third flight will stop over at Shanghai, China. At present, all three flights to Osaka are via Shanghai.

RNAC is also expanding its wings to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where it will fly twice a week. It is also planning two flights a week to Seoul of South Korea via Shanghai.

The airlines has four Boeing aircraft in its fleet operating international services. A Boeing 767 was leased from Lauda Air only recently.

US lauds Nepal, Bhutan agreement

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS):  The United States is pleased to note that Nepal and Bhutan are moving to implement their recent agreement to resolve the longstanding problem of nearly 100,000 persons claiming refugee status from Bhutan who have been hosted by Nepal in refugee camps during the past decade, according to U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

The United States has encouraged Nepal and Bhutan to resolve the refugee issue fully and fairly, and we applaud their recent measures to do so, Boucher is quoted as saying in a news release from the American Embassy.

We have long been a major contributor, through the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme, to the humanitarian needs of these people, Boucher said adding, we plan to continue working with all concerned parties, at their request, to facilitate the just resolution of this longstanding humanitarian problem.

On January 4, in accordance with an agreement signed in Kathmandu on December 28, each country named five-member expert teams that are scheduled to visit the camps next week to begin the process of verification and repatriation of those found eligible to return to Bhutan.

Authorities furnish information

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS): Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources Bishwanath Sapkota and executive director of Nepal Electricity Authority Vishnu Bam Malla, at the meeting today of the House of Representative Finance Committee chaired by committee chairman Smriti Narayan Chaudhari, furnished information on matters pertaining to implementation of earlier decisions of the committee regarding terms and conditions and provisions of the power purchase agreements with the Khimti, Indravati and Upper Modi hydropower projects.

The meeting decided to give directives to the Ministry of Water Resources and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to take initiative to sign agreements in the interest of the NEA after studying the actual cost of hydropower projects such as Khimti, Indravati and Upper Modi and reviewing the terms and conditions including methods of payment.

Likewise, at the meeting of the House of Representatives Development Committee held today under the chairmanship of committee chairman Tanka Prasad Rai, National Planning Commission (NPC) member Jagadish Chandra Pokharel and secretary at the Ministry of Works and Physical Planning Hiranya Lal Regmi furnished detailed information on the policy pursued by HMG to regulate the roads for the next 20 years considering the pressure of vehicles in the Kathmandu Valley at present.

NPC member Pokharel and secretary Regmi gave detailed information on the progress made hitherto towards developing Kanti Rajpath as an emergency access road and national policy and standards concerning road construction.

The meeting today of the House of Representatives Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Committee presided over by committee chairman Mahendra Yadav decided to extend hearty thanks to all concerned including DDCs and district administration offices for their cooperation to teams deputed in 14 districts to hold interactions and collect opinions concerning matters relating to women's right to inheritance as mentioned in the Civil Code (eleventh amendment) Bill now under consideration in parliament.

Looking forward to further cooperation in accomplishing the remaining tasks in this connection, the committee decided to extended hearty thanks to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and the main streamlining project for gender equality.

A five-member sub-committee comprising committee members Gehendra Giri, Nara Bahadur Hamal, Rajendra Kharel and Ramnath Adhikari with Prem Bahadur Singh as convenor has been constituted to make full preparations concerning interaction programmes and opinion collection in Kathmandu.

At the meeting of the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee held today under the chairmanship of committee chairman Subash Nembang, secretary at the Ministry of Finance and the governor of Nepal Rastra Bank said that as the financial situation of Nepal Bank Limited and Rastriya Banijya Bank was delicately, a process of contracting out the management of the two banks had been pursued and the approval of both banks was also sought in this regard. The secretary and the governor had been invited to the committee to furnish information regarding the awarding of the management contracts for the two banks.

MPs Bharat Mohan Adhiari, Dilli Raj Khanal, Gangadhar Lamsal and Rabindra Nath Sharma, who were invited for discussions on the matter, said that the process initiated by Nepal Rastra Bank was in contravention of the provisions of the law and was not transparent.

It was then decided to request Nepal Rastra Bank to furnish the committee by 3 Magh 2057 all particulars and the basis for all the decisions and processes in this regard.

More bidders expected for BPC privatization

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Jan. 12: In its bid to transfer the public sector enterprises into private hands, the government is mulling to privatise the country's first and foremost Power Company which "is playing a very significant role for the development of hydro power in the country."

So far six power companies – Independent Power Company of Britain, Intercraft of Norway, Pacific Hydro Company of Australia, Sanima of Russia and two power companies from India and China – have responded to a tender bid for the privatisation of the Butwal Power Company (BPC) which is celebrating its 35th anniversary today.

According to general manager of the BPC Kiran Malla, the last date of the tender bid that ends on January 31 may be recalled since other companies are expected to join the bid.

However, Malla put forward the clarifications regarding the tax payment controversy that is attributed to the lack of response from the bidders.

"The reason why there are few companies responding to the bid is its controversy over tax payment regarding the Aandhikhola project," Malla said.

"In the Electricity Act of the government there is the provision of 'tax holiday' but so far the mechanism is not clarified and we have fallen in controversy," Malla told The Rising Nepal today.

"But the problem of tax will be over very soon and the privatisation process of the BPC will smoothly go ahead," he said.

The BPC, country's leading hydropower developer, owns and operates the 12 MW Jhimruk Hydropower Plant and the 5.1 MW Andhi Khola Hydropower Plant.

The Company has been supplying electricity to about 20,000 rural people in western districts of Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Pyuthan and Syangja under its rural electrification programme.

The Company has invested 140 US$ (15 per cent of the total share) to 60 MW Khimti Hydropower Project, owns 48 per cent shares in Nepal Hydro and Electric (P) Ltd., 20 per cent shares in Hydrolab.
The Company has been undertaking multi-disciplinary projects in hydropower and rural electrification, tunnelling, irrigation, environmental and socio-economic studies and project management.

Inaugurating today the 35th anniversary of the BPC, a joint undertaking of the government, Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal Industrial Development Corporation and the United Mission to Nepal, Minister of State for Water Resources Ram Bahadur Gurung remarked that the BPC was mature enough to be privatised.

"Since it is one of very few profit making public enterprises, the BPC could contribute a lot even after it becomes independent and free," Gurung said.

President of the BPC Bishwo Nath Sapkota said even if it is privatised, the Company should always be guided by the principal of the progress of the country through the development of hydroelectricity.

During the function, Minister for State Gurung felicitated senior internal auditor of the BPC Bishnu Prasad Shrestha recognising his contribution for the promotion of the Company.

Consumers’ Forum asks for measures on POL products

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS): Consumers' Forum Nepal has demanded that measures be taken to wipe out the present scarcity of cooking gas in the market, improve the distribution system of coupons for kerosene and bring down the price of petroleum products in response to the decline in prices in the international market.

In a statement distributed at a press conference organised by the forum here today, the forum has blamed the wrong management of the government for the scarcity of cooking gas and kerosene in the market and accused it of not being able to implement the decision to constitute a market monitoring committee.

Stating that businessmen have created an artificial scarcity, the forum has also emphasized the need to distribute daily essentials to consumers in an efficient manner.

Nepal deplores communal tension

Gaur, Jan. 12 (RSS): Leader of the main opposition party and CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, speaking at a Face to Face programme organised by Nepal Press Chautari, Rauthat, at Gaur today, said that the leaders of the Nepali Congress who have been given the confidence and affection of the people were only fighting among themselves for the sake of positions and the country was passing through a big crisis.

He further said the people felt that even in this kind of situation the government was asleep and that the relations of the ruling party with the opposition should have been cordial but it was otherwise.

Stating that the government should have consulted the opposition parties in introducing ordinances concerning creation of an armed police force and chief administrative officers (Chhetrapal) just one month before the next parliamentary session, he said the government had been behaving unilaterally giving rise to suspicions about the intentions and activities of the government.

The leader of the main opposition party said that the Maoists were day dreaming about acquiring power because of their wrong perception of the policy of violence, and that killing innocent people on the pretext of waging a so-called people's war would not resolve matters.

General secretary Nepal deplored the communal tension arising in the country since some time now and alleged that it was a conspiracy hatched by anti-democratic elements to destroy democracy.

He said his party had initiated a peace march from the Mechi in the east to the Mahakali in the west in a bid to ensure peace and communal harmony in the country, and added that no one should believe in rumours.

Stating that the general public was fed up with the frequent and unjustified Nepal Bandhs while the Terai Bandh called by the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) had evoked a negative response among the people, he said the NSP was drifting from its ideology.

President of Press Chautari Rauthat branch Rebanta Jha presided over the programme.

Terai bandh peaceful:Home Ministry

Kathmandu, Jan. 12 (RSS): The Bandh programme organised in the Terai districts today had only a general affect in some districts while it did not have any affect in some others, according to the home ministry spokesman.

In course of the Bandh, one jeep in Saptari, one truck in Mahottari, a bus, a truck and a tractor in Parsa and three trucks in Nawalparasi district were slightly damaged due to of pelting of stones by the Bandh organisers.

Police had to use light force to bring under control the situation that arose following stone pelting at policemen by some people who were forcibly obstructing transportation in Parwanipur of Parsa district.

One policeman was injured in the incident and besides this no untoward incident took place during the Bandh today.

According to the spokesman, altogether 36 persons including four in Jhapa district, 17 in Morang, 11 in Sunsari and four in Nawalparasi district were taken into police custody on the charge of pelting stones at transport vehicles, obstructing roads and forcing shops to close down.

All individuals arrested except those involved in vandalism will be released later today following investigations, said the spokesman.