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The Ministry of Forest and Environment is in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, as the constitutional anti-graft body has questioned it for sending a large delegation to COP29, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) wrote a letter to the ministry on Monday, questioning the rationale behind sending a large delegation to Baku when only three representatives would have been sufficient.

President Ramchandra Paudel is leading the Nepali delegation to the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as the COP29. He is scheduled to address the conference on Tuesday.

The ministry has sent a 31-member team to Baku. The delegation includes Minister Ain Bahadur Shahi, Secretary Deepak Kumar Kharal, Administration Division Chief and Joint-secretary Bhupal Baral, and Administration Division Under-secretary Shobhakar Regmi.

It has been learned that several non-government organizations funded the delegation's expenses from their regular program and activity budgets in Nepal.

Ministry sources say the CIAA has asked the ministry to explain the responsibilities of all team members in Baku.

A source at the ministry says a reply will be sent to the CIAA after Administration Division Chief Baral returns to Kathmandu. While Baral is expected to return on Nov 16, Minister Shahi is scheduled to return on Nov 19. Minister of State for Forest and Environment Rupa BK is scheduled to fly to Baku on Nov 14. However, a member of her secretariat said she is reluctant to travel, given the negative media coverage the Nepali delegation has received.

Former Gandaki Province Minister Deepak Manange has been detained by Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers in Kathmandu's Sano Bharyang area this morning. Manange, whose real name is Rajiv Gurung, was convicted of attempted murder in connection with a plot to kill notorious gangster Milan Gurung, known as Chakre Milan.

On Nov 5, the Supreme Court upheld a previous Patan Appellate Court ruling, which had sentenced Manange to five years in prison. This ruling superseded an earlier Kathmandu District Court verdict from 2007, which had initially handed him a two-year prison term. After a government appeal, the Patan Appellate Court escalated his sentence to five years in 2012, though he had remained at large until recently.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, Manange avoided arrest until today. He was presented in court, where he was ordered to be detained at Dillibazar Jail. While Manange had previously refrained from appealing the Court of Appeal's decision for six years, he only filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after his arrest. Although initially dismissed for late filing, the court eventually accepted his appeal, releasing him on a bond of Rs 27,375.

Manange, elected unopposed to Gandaki Province's Assembly from Manang, previously served as a minister and was aligned with the Unified Socialist Party led by Madhav Nepal. Despite frequently voting against his party, he faced no disciplinary action. Now, following the Supreme Court's ruling, he will return to Dillibazar Jail to serve his sentence.

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation unveiled the Lal Commission report on dedicated feeder and trunk lines in a press conference on Monday. The report, commissioned to address disputes between industrialists and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) over electricity supply, was made public following a decision by the Council of Ministers on Sunday.

Key decisions from the Council include reconnecting electricity to industries whose power lines had been cut, and enforcing a 15-day deadline for industries on dedicated and trunk lines to clear outstanding arrears as per their TOD meter readings. The commission, led by former judge Girish Chandra Lal, was established on Jan 9 and submitted its findings to the ministry on May 5, aiming to bring resolution and reforms in industrial electricity supply management.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dismissed any possibility of a State Partnership Program (SPP) agreement with the United States during a brief interaction with journalists at Biratnagar Airport on Monday. Responding to questions while exiting the airport, Oli clarified, “There will be no SPP agreement.”

This statement follows recent remarks from CPN (Maoist Center) Chairperson and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who voiced suspicions that the government might sign an SPP agreement. Speaking at a press conference in Makwanpur on Sunday, Dahal claimed that the government could consider a deal under the SPP, potentially even more contentious than the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement. He alleged that Oli had previously expressed theoretical consent for such an arrangement.

Oli, however, refuted these claims, emphasizing his focus on economic prosperity for Nepal. “We are working for the prosperity of the country,” he added, declining further questions.