Environment Protection

PRIME Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has said that His Majesty's Government is always committed to the protection of environment and has taken all necessary measures to mitigate all factors that contribute to the degradation of natural environment. Inaugurating the international seminar on sustainable slope risk management for road jointly organised by His Majesty's Government and the Paris-based Permanent International Association for Road Congress in Kathmandu the other day, Prime Minister Chand said that Nepal has already enacted the Environmental Protection Act with the aim of strictly restoring, and preserving the natural environment and ecological balance. It is true that Nepal, of late, has been very sensitive towards conservation of ecology and environment. Nepal is rich in biodiversity and natural resources. The Himalayan range is the natural treasure in terms of biological diversity and natural flora and fauna. However, the rich natural environment and biological diversity have been under pressure recently due to human activities. The forest resource was once used to be described as the wealth of Nepal. However, the deforestation was carried out in such a scale over the last few years, that the tropical forests of Nepal dwindled very fast. As a result, Nepal has less than 25 per cent of land covered with forest. Areas with lush green forests and vegetation both in terai and mountainous regions have been turned into agricultural areas and human settlements. The country has already experienced the grave consequences in the forms of landslides, floods and drought mainly due to the degradation of environment and depletion of natural resources. Population pressure and poverty are major culprits to blame in environmental degradation. At the same time, neglect towards environment while carrying out development activities like construction of roads and bridges, dams and reservoirs has further added the risk of environmental degradation. Nepal is a mountainous country and if special care was not taken while constructing roads on the slopes, the mountainous ecology and environment of the country is likely to be further vulnerable. Against this background, the seminar on the sustainable slope risk management for roads construction appears to be very appropriate and timely. As observed by the experts, Nepal is geologically fragile and has unstable slopes that has been causing problem in designing, constructing and operating roads. Thus the outcome of the seminar, in which more than 300 representatives from different countries have participated, would provide valuable clues and information, which would help Nepalese experts and government to overcome these problems and deal with environmental problems in more effective way while carrying out development projects like construction of roads.

Retirement Scheme

THE Board of Directors of the Nepal Rastra Bank, a bid to down-size the bureaucracy in the nation's central bank, as per a news item carried by this daily the other day, is coming up with a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) within a week. According to the same report, out of the total staff of 2,600, about 400 bank employees, mostly bank tellers and clerks, have been rendered redundant after the central bank introduced computers and other machines. That the central bank, like many other government and semi-government agencies, are over-staffed hardly needs any mention here. This could be due to the fact that over the last few decades, the central bank, along with other government and semi-government offices, embarked upon massive recruitment drives. While the reasons for this were undoubtedly many, suffice it to say that one of the main reason was due to the fact that the erstwhile system, for more than three decades, was the sole initiator and implementor of development plans and programmes. Since almost all these plans and schemes were government-driven and funded, to ensure their proper implementation and objectives, the government-run and owned agencies had to go in for massive recruitment drives. While the results of such large intakes of employees to implement the erstwhile system and government's prior-charted out plans and programmes are definitely a moot point, that the nation and the government, with the restoration of the multi-party democratic system of governance, are having to face new challenges is well-known to all. From amongst them, the foremost is to upgrade the people's low socio-economic status and conditions. Secondly, to lay down the infrastructure to expedite the nation's all-round development endeavours.
All this can only be attained until and unless the entire bureaucracy is not only re-oriented to the government's new duties, responsibilities and vision but is thoroughly streamlined so as to infuse in it the much-needed efficiency. It is for these very reasons that the government not only instituted an Administrative Reform Commission but is also implementing the august body's recommendations. Amongst the recommendations, one is to streamline the existing bureaucracy. While the central bank's forthcoming VRS is obviously in keeping with the government's ongoing administrative reform measures, such a scheme should also be availed to other government and semi-government agencies' employees too.