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House of Representatives Devraj Speaker Ghimire said that the Parliament meeting will commence from 2 pm today.

The Speaker said so after observing the photo exhibition entitled 'Mountain Tourism: Our Pride, Our Identity' organized by Rastriya Samachar Samiti, the National News Agency to commemorate the 18th Republic Day, today.

"The House does not necessarily have to be obstructed, but it is. The meeting of the House of Representatives will be held from 2 pm today. Generally, meetings used to be scheduled for 11 am and 1 am, but today the meeting has been set for 2 pm. I hope that the Parliament will start from 2 pm," he said on the occasion.

Speaker Ghimire said that the House meeting was disrupted just when it was about to hold discussions on important agendas of the budget. "Now, it is necessary to reduce the number of lawmakers taking part in the deliberations and to conduct the discussions according to the procedure," the Speaker said, adding that the House obstruction has already caused the damage and the agenda for now should be set accordingly, and the discussion on the budget should be concluded according to the procedure.

Speaker Ghimire asserted that the meeting agenda would now be set in order to conclude the deliberations on the budget within the fixed timeline.

Egyptian Ambassador to Nepal Noha Hamdy Ahmed ElGebaly today paid a farewell call on President Ram Chandra Paudel. 

On the occasion, they exchanged views on matters relating to bilateral relations between the two countries, mutual interests and concerns, the Office of the President said. 

The President expressed gratitude to the ambassador for successfully completing her tenure. 

The officials of the Land Problem Resolution Commission have apprised Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli about the progress of the work done by the commission so far. 

During a meeting at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar today, the Commission officials reported to the PM that the commission is working in collaboration with all three tiers of the government on identifying landless Dalits, squatters, and unregistered inhabitants, collecting land records and carrying out certification, surveying, dispute resolution, as well as land registration and distribution of the land ownership certificates.

Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Balram Adhikari was also present on the occasion.

Chairman of the commission, Hari Prasad Rijal, informed that a standard has been prepared to identify landless and the squatters who have not received housing and government land for the past 10 years, as well as those who have been living on government, public, and leasehold land for at least 10 years without proper arrangements. 

The commission officials mentioned that it would be easier for the commission to pursue its works if the bill to amend some land-related laws in Nepal is passed.

Prime Minister Oli expressed the confidence that the bill under consideration in Parliament would be passed soon and instructed the commission to proceed ahead with the identification of landless Dalits, squatters, and unregulated settlers in a planned and accelerated manner. 

The government formed the commission on October 30 last year.

Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Devraj Ghimire held a meeting with the Chief Whips of the three major parties in a bid to resume the House proceedings.

Speaker Ghimire held the meeting with  Nepali Congress Chief Whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire, CPN-UML Chief Whil Nepali Mahesh Kumar Bartaula and CPN (Maoist Center) Chief Whip Hitraj Pandey in Singha Durbar this morning.

During the meeting, Speaker Ghimire expressed his  dissatisfaction, stating that although the parliamentary meetings have been postponed multiple times for consensus among political parties, no result has been seen. 

Saying that discussions on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year could not begin due to the obstruction in Parliament, he urged the parties to consider constitutional limits and practical aspects. 

Main opposition Maoist Center Chief Whip Pandey said that party Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has convened a meeting of opposition parties in Baneshwor today, and thereafter they would express their stance. 

Ruling UML Chief Whip Bartaula and Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ghimire reiterated their stance that they could not agree to the opposition's demand for the resignation of the Home Minister and the formation of an investigation committee to carry out investigation into the 'visit visa scam'.