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A new study has revealed significant inconsistencies in pay, benefits and service conditions across public enterprises, exposing a system marked by discretion, weak oversight and opaque financial practices.

A task force formed by the Ministry of Finance said in its report that there is no uniform standard for salaries or facilities for staff. In most institutions, boards of directors decide benefits at their own discretion. The absence of a unified legal framework, limited monitoring, and pressure from employee unions have contributed to the uneven system, according to the report.

Among 48 institutions surveyed by the task force, only eight were found to have followed the pay scale set by the government on allowance distribution. Eleven were found to have relied on decisions of their general assemblies, while nine were found to have left the matter entirely to board discretion. Similarly, six have determined allowances according to their internal rules, while five have been following predetermined rates. 

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) are providing the highest allowance of Rs 9,000 per meeting. Two institutions provide Rs 8,000, one pays Rs 7,500, and four offer Rs 7,000 per meeting, according to the report.

The task force also highlighted sharp variations in monthly compensation for chief executives of the institutions it surveyed. Rastriya Banijya Bank tops the list with a monthly package of Rs 450,000, followed by Agriculture Development Bank and Nepal Bank both of which pay Rs 400,000, while the Nepal Tourism Board pays Rs 391,000.

There are also significant variations in the pay of officer-level employees in the surveyed institutions. Out of 60 institutions studied by the task force, 17 pay less than Rs 50,000 a month, 25 fall in the Rs 50,000–75,000 range, and seven pay above Rs 75,000.

The study documents a long list of non-transparent allowances given under headings such as risk, housing, telephone, station, regulation and incentive. Many institutions distribute these benefits without informing the Ministry of Finance. Provident fund arrangements of these institutions also differ, with only 21 institutions using a contribution-based system.

Some of these institutions offer one month’s salary or a 15–35 percent bonus during anniversaries. Similarly, 28 of the studied institutions have welfare and protection, with annual deposits of two to five months’ salary. Staff in some institutions can access loans for houses, land or vehicles at interest rates as low as 1–5 percent. A few institutions have even distributed company shares, despite lacking legal authority to do so.

The taskforce has recommended sweeping reforms to standardize these facilities. It has proposed making the Ministry of Finance approval mandatory for all financial obligations, including salaries, allowances and retirement benefits of these institutions. Similarly, it has recommended introducing a single service-condition regulation for all these institutions, backed by an umbrella law to enforce financial accountability.

The panel has suggested preventing loss-making or grant-dependent institutions from offering benefits higher than those in the civil service. It also suggested introducing performance-based incentives, cabinet-set salaries for chief executives, and minister-level approval for benefits for board members.

Likewise, it has suggested introducing separate, market-aligned structures for special professions such as doctors, nurses, pilots and insurance experts. It has recommended making these institutions adopt fully contribution-based social security, creating a mandatory retirement fund, abolishing opaque funds, removing non-monetary perks and eliminating provisions that allow boards or employees to set their own benefits.

Boundary disputes have resurfaced across five local levels in Banke district, affecting communities, development works, and natural resource extraction in multiple areas. The conflict is most prominent between Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality and Duduwa Rural Municipality, where nearly 100 bighas of riverbed land near the Sidhaniya Ghat area of the Rapti River is being claimed by both sides.

According to Lavaraj Kharel, Ward Chair of Rapti Sonari–6, farmers from Khalla Chapari possess land ownership certificates for the area, yet Duduwa has been staking its own claim. “I myself have 15 kathhas there. Despite our attempts to resolve the dispute, we have not succeeded. We have now written to the municipality administration, requesting a settlement,” Kharel said.

The Rapti River forms the natural boundary between the two municipalities. With the river changing its course over time, Duduwa has claimed that parts of its Gokul Community Forest land have shifted across the river. Duduwa–5 Ward Chair Jhankabahadur Thapa blames excessive extraction of river-based materials for intensifying the dispute. “We claim the land as ours; Rapti Sonari says the same. It is necessary for both municipal leaderships to hold discussions and find a conclusion,” he stated.

The unresolved boundary dispute has disrupted the awarding of contracts for riverbed material extraction. Rapti Sonari has called for bids twice but received no applicants, said Vice-chair Manisha Singh Tharu. Meanwhile, Duduwa has continued extraction using excavators.

Boundary issues are not limited to these two municipalities. A prolonged dispute also exists between Kohalpur Municipality and Baijanath Rural Municipality. In wards bordering both areas—Baijanath-4 and Kohalpur-1 and 2—more than 250 households of Kaushilanagar and Gauri Danda are caught in confusion over jurisdiction. Some residents have even received land certificates through the Land Commission under Kohalpur’s administration.

Baijanath-4 Chair Prem Bahadur Shahi claims Kohalpur is wrongfully asserting ownership over Baijanath’s territory. “These settlements fall under the former Naubasta VDC-8 and 9, which are clearly within our ward boundaries. But Kohalpur has issued land certificates there,” he said. Kohalpur Ward 1 member Bindukumari Shahi acknowledged the dispute, saying it has deprived residents of essential development and construction work.

Baijanath Rural Municipality also faces another dispute with Khajura Rural Municipality. According to Baijanath Vice-chair Nirmala Shahi, 12 bighas of land in Bhandariya village of Ward 7 have been encroached upon by Khajura.

The disputes date back to the administrative restructuring of 2017, when new local-level boundaries were established. Even after eight years of elected representatives assuming office, many of these disputes remain unresolved.

Gyandendra Kumar Chaudhary, Chief of the District Coordination Committee (DCC) Banke, said efforts are ongoing to resolve the issues. “We have tried extensively to settle the Rapti Sonari–Duduwa dispute, even conducting joint surveys, but both sides have refused to agree. For the Kohalpur–Baijanath dispute, we have sought assistance from the Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Center Nepal,” he said.

Rohit Chaudhary, national resource person at the center, said they have been working for a year to mediate the Kohalpur–Baijanath dispute through a multi-stakeholder dialogue process. “We are now at the stage of discussing possible options for agreement. We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon,” he added.

Despite ongoing mediation efforts, boundary disputes continue to hinder local governance, service delivery, and development across multiple areas in Banke.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is investing Rs 3 billion for a joint venture to be established for the development of two cross border transmission lines.

The NEA and India's Power Grip Corporation will have their investments in the JV, according to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.

The Ministry stated that Rs 1 billion will be invested for the JV to be established in Nepal and Rs 2 billion in India as the equity share. The NEA would invest the amount from its own internal resources.

As already agreed by the officials of the two countries, the JV will be set up for the construction of Inaruwa-Purniya and Dodhara-Bareli cross border transmission lines.

The important transmission lines for energy exchanges would be completed by 2030.

It is said that the JV to be established in Nepal will have 51 percent in shares from the NEA and 49 percent from the Indian Power Grid Corporation.

A total of 35,952 foreigners visited different tourist destinations in the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in the month of Kartik (from mid-October to mid-November) this year.

The number of total visitors is eight percent more compared to the figure of the same month last year in ACAP, one of the best trekking routes in the world.

The ACAP officials shared that 33,310 trekkers had visited the area in the month of Kartik last year. The autumn season, especially the months of Ashoj and Kartik, is considered the right time for trekking along the ACAP.

Chief of ACAP Dr Rabin Kadariya shared that the number of Indian tourists is the highest among the visitors here.

Besides the foreigners, the number of domestic tourists has also significantly increased year on year.

Dr Kadariya stated that domestic tourists throng the ACAP for trekking by utilizing the vacation of the major festivals.

The key touristic destinations in the ACAP are Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Peak, Ghandruk, Tilicho Lake, Thorang-la Pass, Upper Mustang, Ghorepani, Punhil and several others.

The ACAP covers some 15 local levels in Kaski, Lamjung, Manang, Myagdi and Mustang districts.

The weather today will remain partly cloudy in the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and mainly fair in the remaining areas of the country this afternoon.

Light rain and snowfall are likely at one or two places of the mountainous regions of Koshi Province, according to the Weather Forecasting Division.

The meteorological analysis by the Division states that there is no significant effect of the weather system across the country at present.

Likewise, the weather is likely to remain partly cloudy in the hilly area of Koshi and Gandaki Provinces and generally fair in rest of the parts of the country tonight.

Pokhara Avengers are playing against Sudurpaschim Royals in the match to be played today under the ongoing Nepal Premier League (NPL), a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Kushal Bhurtel is leading the team Pokhara Avengers while Dipendra Singh Airee is the captain of the team Sudurpaschim Royals.

Pokhara Avengers has both national and international players including key players Akash Chand, Sagar Dhakal, Tritra Raj Das, Dinesh Kharel and others.

Likewise, wicketkeeper Binod Bhandari, Chris Lynn and other national and international cricketers are with Sudurpaschim Royals.

The day-night match is scheduled to start at 4 pm at TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur and will be played under floodlights, installed for the second season of NPL 2025.

Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Dagny Mjøs has said that Nepal and Norway will continuously engage in fostering cooperation in the area of higher education.  

At an interaction program on Open Parliament and Citizen Participation organized by Mid-West University in Surkhet on Thursday, Ambassador Mjøs recalled the ongoing cooperation in promoting inclusive education at Mid-West University and expressed her commitment to continued collaboration in the future. "There has been a cooperation in promoting inclusive education at Mid-West University," she stated. 

The University mentioned that the discussion program was held under the chair of Vice-Chancellor of Mid-West University, Prof Dr Dhruba Kumar Gautam, with the presence of Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Dagny and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nepal Resident Representative Kyoko Yokosuka.

On the occasion, Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Gautam highlighted that Nepal–Norway relations are based on friendship and cooperation and noted that such an interaction program would strengthen collaboration in higher education in the Karnali region and further consolidate relations between the two nations.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Gautam shared that the bilateral partnership has impressively strengthened the foundation of the university in evidence-based teaching, high-quality research and policy advocacy.

Registrar of Mid-West University Prof Dr Shobhakhar Kandel, Executive Director of the Directorate of International Relations Dr Yadu Prasad Gyawali and Executive Director of the Directorate of Planning, Development, and Monitoring Dr Bishnu Kumar Khadka, among others were present on the occasion.

Simara has remained tense for a couple of days, giving an indication of turmoil in Madhesh province as Nepal takes not-so-certain steps toward national elections slated for March 5 next year. The CPN-UML had plans to organize an ‘awakening campaign’ in the city located in Bara district but it did not go well with GenZers. On Wednesday, those wanting to organize the campaign clashed with those opposed to it, leaving a couple of GenZers injured.

On Thursday, as a group identifying themselves as GenZers hit the streets of Simara against the police’s ‘failure’ to arrest UML cadres involved in Wednesday’s clash on the basis of their complaint, police used force to disperse them and imposed a curfew. There’s no denying that everyone has the right to protest—and to counter-protest—but the ‘show of strength’ has to be peaceful. What’s more, a protest should not cause inconveniences to others in a democracy worth its name. As the good ole GB Shaw says: Your freedom ends where my nose begins.    

But protesters in our country take these things f0r granted and choose to bring life to a halt, which goes against the letter and spirit of our Constitution and makes a mockery of the rule of law.   According to Article 17(2)(b) of the 2015 Constitution of Nepal, every citizen has the freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms. 

While every outfit has the right to organize its programs peacefully, the host community also has the right to express its disinterest toward such programs and even bar them. In this day and age of information technology, knowledge and information are just a click away and people are generally ‘awake’. This means politicians do not need to take long flights or rough and tumble rides across Nepal all too often to sermon them on several things under the sun and beyond in a typical Panchayati fashion.

What’s more, a significant chunk of the national population appears tired of the old political parties and even their new leaders, thanks to thriving corruption, bad governance, nepotism, the lack of rule of law and chronic political instability over the decades. The loss of mass appeal for the big parties is no good tiding in a democracy, especially in view of the fact that new political forces have not become strong enough to replace the old ones.

Against this backdrop, time has perhaps come for Nepal’s political parties, especially those with the prefix ‘major’ attached to them, to come up with new ways of communicating with the masses that are in sync with changing times and a fast-changing technological landscape.

Having said this, forces across the political spectrum should develop a habit of hearing each other out and desist from suppressing dissent with a brute force to avert the kind of colossal losses that we as a nation suffered on Sept 8 and 9. Moreover, barring parties from organizing their programs will not create a conducive environment for the national elections. The sooner the political forces—and the government—realise this, the better.