His Majesty receives panel's report on assets
Property of 30,594 persons codified

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, March 18: His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev today was presented with the report of the Judicial Inquiry Commission on Property (JICP) which includes in detail the "codification" of property of high-ranking government officials and political leaders of the country who held public posts since 1990.

After submitting the 607-page report to His Majesty the King this afternoon, chairman of the JICP Bhairav Prasad Lamsal told journalists that as they had completed their assignment, it was now the government's turn to work on the findings.

The report gives property details, along with a comparative study of the assets provided in the 'property detail submission form' by the concerned persons and the property found during the course of investigation of 30,594 people.

We had dispatched the forms to 41,941 individuals who held public posts since 1990 with the honest expectation that they would all be filled up and submitted. But we failed to receive property details from 11,347 people," Lamsal, who is a judge at the Supreme Court, told the press.

Lamsal, however, declined to explain whether the Commission had singled out anyone who might have amassed wealth illegally.

"We do not have the authority to do so. As assigned we have honestly codified the property of those people who submitted the forms. It is now the government's job to blacklist and take action against those who have unaccounted for wealth," he said.

But a Commission source requesting anonymity told The Rising Nepal that there are more than 2,000 officials who have been found acquiring property beyond their means.

Asked how satisfied he was with his work, Chairman of the JICP said their work would be meaningful if the government fully worked on the findings.

Talking about the achievements, Lamsal said it could record property details of more than 30,000 people, and this could be a guideline for other similar investigations in the future.

"I am hopeful that this will help stop corruption and strengthen good governance in the country," he said at the press meet organised at the JICP office, which closes down from tomorrow upon expiry of its mandate.

His Majesty the King in March 2002 had formed the Commission to carry out an impartial study of the property of those who have held public posts since 1990 in a bid to control corruption. As the Commission could not complete its task in the stipulated six-month time frame, the term was extended by a further six months in August last year.

Nepal to evacuate its citizens in Gulf

By Bhuwaneshor Sharma

KATHMANDU, March.18: With the United States bracing for a war in Iraq, Nepal is preparing to evacuate its citizens working in the Gulf countries, especially in Kuwait where American bases are located.

"We have already stopped sending Nepalese to Kuwait," Minister for Labour and Transport Management Kamal Prasad Chaulagain told The Rising Nepal Tuesday.

More than 15,000 Nepalese are currently working in Kuwait. We are planning to take them to safer destinations should the war takes place, said Chaulagain.

"However, we have yet to decide where (to take them). Our priority will be to take them to destinations where they can get a job," he added.

Govt working to set up advertising authority

RSS

KATHMANDU, March 18: The task force constituted to suggest ways to develop the press presented its report to Minister for Information and Communications and General Administration Ramesh Nath Pandey today.

The task force was constituted on December 24, 2002 under the chairmanship of Press Council Nepal chairman Harihar Birahi.

Accepting the report, Minister Pandey said that His Majesty's Government is fully committed to implementing the suggestions contained in it.

He said that HMG and journalists should work together to implement the report.

Journalists also have an equal responsibility for the effective implementation of the report, he said adding that the government would not face any financial difficulty in implementing the suggestions of the report and that in this connection preparations had been made for constituting an advertising authority.

Throwing light on the present realities in the country, he said we have accepted multiparty democracy, this has been established in the country and His Majesty the King is fully committed to this system which has been accepted by the people.

He said democracy will continue to exist in the country and nobody need harbor any misconceptions about this.

Making it clear that an agreement has been reached between HMG and the CPN Maoists and a ceasefire put in place because they realize the need for national unity, Pandey said a code of conduct has also been implemented to make the ceasefire a success.

A reliable step has been taken to turn the cease-fire into total peace and His Majesty's Government and the Maoists are engaged in the peace process with seriousness and maturity, he said.
He urged responsible political parties to help expedite the peace process.

Peace is the wish of HMG, the entire people, the Maoists and all classes of society, he said adding that nobody should set any pre-condition for fulfilling the wish for peace in the country.

Describing the monarchy as a strong pillar of national unity and the well-being of all, he said all Nepalese have faith in the monarchy.

Speaking of the role of monarchy in the nation's independence and in the good of the Nepalese, he said anything unfavorable to the monarchy should find no place in the communications media.
Task Force suggestioons: The government should take the problems facing the press as the country's own problems and consolidate the foundations for the instiutional development of journalism, accepting journalism as an integral part of national development.

This is stated in the report prepared by the task force for making recommendations for development of newspapers which His Majesty's Government constituted on December 24, 2002 with Press Council Nepal chairman Harihar Birahi as the convenor.

The task force presented its report to Minister for Information and Communications Ramesh Nath Pandey today.

The report states that the responsibility of the state towards newspapers does not end with His Majesty's Government providing certain facilities and assistance to journalists and newspapers.

War feared to batter Nepalese economy

By Raj Kumar K.C.

KATHMANDU, Mar 18: The country's planners, economists and business community fear that the already fragile economy of the least developed countries like Nepal will worsen if the United States declares war against Iraq.

All the economic activities, except for the agriculture sector, will come to a standstill, and the domino effect of the rise in the price of petroleum (PoL) products in the international market will inflate the price of every commodity.

Worst of all, remittances from abroad - the country's major source of income, will be badly hit, triggering a shortfall in foreign exchange reserves.

Currently foreign remittances contribute 18 per cent to the country's GDP. Out of the Rs 7.79 billion remitted through the official banking channel, the contribution from the Gulf countries, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arab is more than 70-75 per cent.

If the war prolongs, it will affect the economic activities of the entire Gulf region, forcing the blue-coloured labourers to abandon their work. It will be very costly for a small economy like ours, says Dr. Govind Bahadur Thapa, director at the Research Department of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).
The Nepalese economy has already hit rock bottom. Yet the war can further paralyze our economy, he added.

Vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr. Shankar Sharma also admits the war would have a negative impact on the Nepalese economy. "But it will depend upon which part of the region the war will affect," he said.

Local development projects to be expedited

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, March 18: With the nation's security situation improving, the government has decided to give special powers to the districts to accelerate development works. The empowerment will simplify the spending of development funds during the remaining period of this fiscal year.
This new decision has laid focus on expediting the implementation of district level projects relating to roads, drinking water, irrigation, electricity and local development that were virtually stalled due to insurgency.

The trend of development expenditure witnessed a decline in the first seven months of this fiscal year in comparison to past years, according to the Finance Ministry. "As the security situation has improved, the government aims to accelerate the pace of development works in the remaining period of this FY," said a Ministry statement Tuesday.

Ten new bird species found in Chitwan

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

Sauraha, Chitwan, March 18: Researchers have sighted nine birds species that are new for the Barandabhar corridor located to the north of Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP). Barandabhar is the only remaining forest belt providing a link between the northern Mahabharata and southern Chure ranges.

With the new sightings, the total number of bird species recorded in Barandabhar area has reached 198. Similarly, the total number of bird species found throughout Chitwan, an inner Terai region, has crossed 500, said ornithologist Ramesh Chaudhary, member of the Sauraha-based Bird Education Society (BES).

The freshly spotted Barandabhar birds include four warblers, two buzzards, a minivet, a flycatcher and a Fulvetta. They are the Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Grey-crowned Warbler, Whistler's Warbler, Lemon-rumped Warbler, Upland Buzzard, Common Buzzard, Long-tailed minivet, Rufous-gorgetted flycatcher and Nepal Fulvetta.

The new sightings were made during a bird survey conducted early this month by ornithologists Ramesh Chaudhary, Rupendra Karmacharya, Hem Subedi, Ganesh Adhikari, Hari Lama and Basu Bidari. The survey was jointly conducted by the BES and Resources Himalaya, a wildlife research agency based in Kathmandu. This is the first bird survey carried out in Chitwan after 1998. In the earlier count, a total of 401 bird species were put in the Chitwan bird checklist. Now, in the lapse of four years, the number has shot up to 502, which gives an encouraging signal for conservationists.
This bird survey was interrupted for a few days after one of the ornithologists was attacked by a rhino. Basu Bidari, a BES member, was injured when a female rhino with its baby charged into him on March 5, said Chaudhary.

"The revised checklist of the BES shows that birds, both resident and migratory, find in Chitwan a good habitat," said Hem Subedi, a BES member who also operates a nature trip agency in Sauraha.
A bird new to Chitwan district was also sighted recently, according to Chaudhary. The Barn Owl was recorded inside the RCNP.

"This is the most ideal time for bird surveying and bird watching in Chitwan. While winter visitors are preparing to depart, summer migrants are arriving," said Chaudhary, one of the founding members of the BES.

The Barandabhar forest stretch provides a migratory channel not only to animals, but also to birds as well. "This corridor is very useful for many migratory birds that come down to feed during the day and take flights at night," said Chaudhary.