Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

THE SUPREME COURT HAS MADE PUBLIC THE five-year strategic plan for the judiciary. The plan aims to overcome the delay in justice delivery and end corruption. The plan has set many objectives including vows to complete cases regarding constitutional matters within one year; cases regarding basic rights and Public Interest Litigation (PIL) within one year; and cases involving the King seeking its advice on delicate matters within one month. This is the first time in history that Nepalese judiciary has come out with such strategic plan to improve its functioning.

THE POWER TRADE CORPORATION (PTC) of India has written a letter to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) expressing its interest to buy firm power from Nepal. After receiving the letter, the NEA officials are discussing the issue. Indian officials are also expected to come to Kathmandu in the next few days to discuss it. The NEA’s data show that Nepal can provide 40 MW and 80 MW of power during winter and monsoon season respectively at present. Nepal and India already have a power exchange agreement based on which they can exchange power up to 150 MW through 14 different cross-border transmission points. At present, NEA officials say that the country has extra 600 million units of power that can be sold to India. The PTC had earlier proposed to buy firm power at the rate of Rs 2.40 per unit. NEA officials say that the country can earn Rs 1 billion a year by selling the power at this rate.

THE TOTAL FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVE HAS exceeded Rs 122 billion – which is enough for 11 months of import of goods and 9.3 months of import of goods as well as services. According to the report prepared by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the Balance of Payment remains favorable because of surplus in current accounts and high growth in foreign loan flow. However, due to higher growth of import compared to export, trade deficit has increased. In the review period the total export increased by 3.8 percent to reach Rs 39.4 billion. Last year, export had only grown by 2 percent. Exports to India has increased by 14 percent to reach Rs 23.49 billion while exports to third countries shrank by 8.3 percent to reach Rs 15.9 billion. Total imports have increased by 9.8 percent to reach Rs 128 billion. Likewise, total government expenditure in this period rose by 11.8 percent to reach Rs 49 billion.

LOCAL COMMUNITY OF DOLAKHA DISTRICT AND OTHER stakeholders have asked the government to implement the proposed Upper Tamakosi project. The community leaders said that the project, which has the strength of 250 MW, is a cheaper one. Preliminary studies have shown that the project can be implemented at the cost of US$ 277 million within four years. “This project is very cheap. It will turn out to be a goose laying golden eggs for the people,” said former MP Ananda Pokhrel. At an interaction program organized by the Upper Tamakosi (Rolwaling) hydropower project stakeholders’ committee, Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma, vice chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC), said that the government did not have adequate budget in hand to implement the project. “The new budget is coming soon. We will try to include this project then,” he assured. Experts said that the generation cost of hydropower from this project would be around US$ 1100 per kilowatt. At the program, former finance minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said that the government should construct the access road first.

A VEHICLE BELONGING TO ANNAPURNA POST daily ran into a landmine laid by the Maoists near Ghansikuwa VDC of Tanahun district. The explosion killed the driver Kanyaras Gurung and injured two others. The vehicle was carrying newspapers from Kathmandu to Pokhara. The incident occurred on the second day of the two day (May 26-27) Gandak region bandh announced by the Maoists.

THE SUPREME COURT, IN A RULING ISSUED on Thursday (May 27), said that the government decision to delegate its power to the five regional administrators to operate the Armed Police Force (APF) is illegal. The apex court ruling came in a response to a public interest litigation filed by a group of lawyers, including Santosh Kumar Mahato. The three member bench of Chief Justice Govinda Bahadur Shrestha, justice Anup Raj Sharma and Badri Kumar Basnet said that it is illegal to authorize the administrators to run the police force since the Local Administration Act says that the matter is the prerogative of the elected authority. The government had delegated power to the APF in order to maintain security at the regional level some ten months back.

FEARING THE PROLONGED OBSTRUCTION IN THE HIGHWAYS due to likely monsoon-triggered landslides and the frequent bandhs and blockades, the government has asked Public Enterprises (PEs) to keep adequate stock of essential supplies like rice, sugar, salt and so on. The government has asked PEs to keep the stock that can be adequate for at least one month. Likewise, the officials of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies have also talked with private traders about keeping adequate stock of supplies. “We are talking with the private sector to ensure the supplies of goods that are beyond the control of government enterprises,” said Bimal Wagle, a joint secretary at the Ministry. According to him, increased quantity of rice is being transported to the capital valley. The Ministry is also keeping the record like which dealer has how much stock of goods and petroleum products.