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The government is to take ahead the process to make the overdue payments of the contractors.

Holding a discussion with the contractors on Sunday, Prime Minister Dahal directed the concerned authority to proceed with the payment process.

According to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the process to make the payment will start from today itself.

The contractors have been hitting the streets for a long time demanding payments for their completed works.

Prime Minister Dahal directed the Finance Ministry to speed up the development works by disbursing Rs 6.3 billion immediately.

Following the directive of the Prime Minister, the Finance Ministry has decided to proceed with the payment process from today itself.

Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Prakash Jwala, Chief Secretary Baikuntha Aryal and Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Pushkar among others were present in the meeting.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the stakeholders to ensure that patients coming to the Bir Hospital, the oldest hospital of the country, seeking treatment will have no complaints about its services. He described the Bir Hospital as the pillar of the health sector.

During the meeting with office-bearers of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) today, PM Dahal mentioned that the services at Bir Hospital should also be affordable and of quality as the medical services provided from the Hospital bear the health image of the country.  

Sharing that the government was effortful to provide the means and resources demanded by the hospital, he laid emphasis that the hospital should provide its services in a manner so that the people feel them.

The Prime Minister added that he has initiated discussions on the process of appointment of the NAMS chancellor, assuring of making arrangements that the specialist of the respective sector should be appointed as the chancellor.

Similarly, Vice-Chancellor of the NAMS, Dr Bhupendra Kumar Basnet, said there is excessive pressure of patients at the Bir Hospital and urged the Prime Minister to provide means and resources required for the hospital, according to PM Dahal's private secretariat.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is keen to conclude the transitional justice process under his leadership—and on his own terms. Ever since he came to power last year, he has been striving to conclude the long drawn-out peace process. Besides trying to bring internal stakeholders on board the process, he has also been trying hard to win support of the international community.

For the same purpose, he registered an amendment bill on the transitional justice Act in Parliament, but he failed to convince the conflict victims as well as the international community. A few days back, he expedited the talks with the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML to forge a consensus on contentious issues of the transitional justice process. He even offered some upper house seats to the main opposition, UML, but to no avail. 

But the reality is that the transitional process is unlikely to move ahead under Dahal’s leadership. The government is preparing to endorse the amendment bill from Parliament from the next session, but it is unlikely due to the position taken by UML and the international community. 

It seems the UML has hardened its position regarding transitional justice. In a recent interview with ApEx, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli said that since Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress was the prime minister during the insurgency period and Dahal was leading the armed insurgency, one cannot expect a fair and just transitional justice delivery under their leadership.  

Oli went further by stating that the Maoist party aims to conclude the process by neglecting the suffering of the war victims. The key issue, the opposition leader added, lies in addressing the grievances of the victims, ending impunity, and establishing the truth before moving towards reconciliation.

Regarding the contents of the amendment bill, there are concerns from the international community. According to the Human Rights Watch, the bill expands the list of violations covered by amnesties, including those crimes that cannot be forgiven under the international law. 

For example, the bill has proposed a two-year statute of limitations on rape complaints. It also prevents prosecution for cases of enforced disappearance, which became illegal under the Nepali law in 2018. The bill has also failed to address the issue of child soldiers. 

The Nepali Congress, a key coalition partner in the Dahal government, has not shown any eagerness to resolve the transitional justice process, nor does it have any concrete position on the contentious issues of the bill. 

It appears that the fate of the peace process hinges only on the positions taken by the UML and the Maoists.

Over the past year, Dahal has been trying to secure the support of the international community in his plan to conclude the transitional justice process. He even tried to secure the support of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, but the latter reiterated the position of the international community in his address to Nepal’s federal parliament. 

He clearly said that the UN stands ready to support the victim-centered process and its implementation in line with international standards and Nepal’s Supreme Court rulings. “Transitional justice has the greatest chance of success when it is inclusive, comprehensive, and has victims at its heart,” Guterres told the parliament.

The message of the international community is loud and clear: there should not be amnesty on serious human rights violations. But the Nepali leaders, through the use of vague and unclear language and maintaining a strong influence in the transitional justice bodies, are seeking amnesty even on serious violations.

Over the past eight years, two transitional justice mechanisms—Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission for Investigation of Enforced Disappearance Cases—have hardly made any progress, except for receiving around 63,000 complaints from conflict victims.  The two bodies are currently without any officer-bearers, which has severely affected their works. 

Although a parliamentary sub-committee was entrusted to hammer out the differences concerning the transitional justice process, it is clear that only the major political parties can take the final call.

Since 2006, political parties of Nepal have been using the transitional justice issue as a bargaining chip to reach to power. The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have long been using the peace process as a leverage to negotiate power-sharing deals with the Maoists. 

This tendency shows that the basic approach of the major parties towards approaching the transitional justice process is flawed. Instead of delivering justice to the victims of conflicts, major parties are using the peace process as a tool to reach power. 

In case it fails to convince the UML, the Dahal government is planning to endorse the transitional justice amendment bill through a majority vote. But that is unlikely to bring about any positive outcome, as was evident eight years ago. 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has registered 64,000 complaints from the conflict victims to date. So far, it has managed to conduct preliminary investigations of only around 4,000 cases. Around 3,000 cases have been left in abeyance due to a lack of concrete evidence. 

Similarly, the Commission for Investigation of Enforced Disappearance Cases has received a total of 3,288 complaints. Out of these, 277 were transferred to the TRC, 292 were put on hold, 136 complaints were found to be duplicative, and 48 cases were resolved. Presently, the commission grapples with 258 active complaints.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal informed the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives that India has signed an agreement to purchase 10, 000 megawatt of electricity from Nepal in 10 years.

Though India has agreed to procure electricity from Nepal, it has reservations pertaining to the purchase of power produced by the Chinese companies.

During the meeting of the parliamentary committee on Wednesday, Prime Minister Dahal said that attempts are being made to cajole India to buy electricity produced by the Chinese companies in Nepal.

The Prime Minister said that India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his visit to Nepal a few days ago had signed a long-term power agreement.

“No agreement has been made to take the investment of India only. There is a provision that any country can produce electricity in Nepal. India has signed an agreement to purchase 10, 000 megawatt of electricity from Nepal in 10 years,” PM Dahal said, adding, “The Indian government, however, is reluctant to purchase electricity produced by Chinese companies in Nepal.”

Prime Minister Dahal said that attempts are being made to persuade India to buy the electricity from the hydropower projects invested by the Chinese company.

The government has formed a committee to probe the issues of power tariff dues related to dedicated and trunk line services. Former Supreme Court Justice Girish Chandra Lal will lead the probe panel.

A Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday formed the committee under the headship of Supreme Court Justice Girish Chandra Lal.

The cabinet meeting has also directed the line agencies to ensure power supply in the industries whose power supply was cut off due to the long pending dues.

Similarly, the Council of Ministers appointed 25 persons in the National Development Council.

The appointees come from amongst the representatives of the District Coordination Committees (DDCs), local governments and other agencies.

Likewise, the government has decided to announce martyrs to different persons whose names were missed in the Nepal Gazette in the past and made corrections to the list of martyrs announced on different dates.

Furthermore, the cabinet approved the resignation tendered by Chairperson of Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) Purushottam Khanal.

The government has decided to appoint NTA Board of Directors Nabaraj Adhikari as the NTA Chairman until next decision as per the Rule 3 (A) of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority Regulations, according to the PM's secretariat.

A panel has been formed under the leadership of the Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology for the appointment of the new NTA Chair.

Families of security personnel who lost their lives in the course of the decade-long armed conflict in the country met with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal today, urging him to address their legitimate concerns regarding transitional justice.

During the meeting, they expressed their support to proceed with the Transitional Justice Bill which is presently under consideration in the Parliament.

They said they are positive towards the Bill as it equally treats those killed by the State and rebel side during the conflict.

On behalf of the conflict-affected families of security personnel, Rita Karki expressed her hope that the incumbent government will profoundly feel the pains of the conflict-hit community and address their concerns regarding transitional justice.

In response, Prime Minister Dahal assured the families that the Bill does not differentiate between the families of those killed by the State and rebel sides during the conflict.

He pledged that there will be no discrimination on these grounds in the future as well.

The Prime Minister promised to revise the Bill to accommodate the interests of all affected families as much as possible.  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called upon relevant authorities to seek the middle-way for finding a solution to the ongoing disputes concerning trunk and dedicated electricity line tariffs.

In a discussion held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers today, the Prime Minister underlined the need of creating a situation where the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) can recover its dues, and industries can resume operations promptly.

He suggested considering the directives of the Commission for the Abuse of Authority and various committees under the federal parliament while exploring ways for sorting out the matter. He stressed on the need of seeking opinions from the Office of the Attorney General in reaching a conclusive decision, urging relevant bodies to explore alternative ways for resolving the matter.

During the meeting, Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basent, assured that the government is actively working to resolve the issue based on available facts and existing laws. He said that entrepreneurs have been given installment options to pay their dues, expressing hope that the matter will be resolved through consensus and legal consultations with the Office of the Attorney General.

Similarly, Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, Ramesh Rijal, who was also present in the meeting, appealed to the government to facilitate finding solutions to the genuine concerns of industrialists. The Ministry is coordinating efforts to establish common ground for the restoration of industrial operations, according to him.

Government Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal was of the view of seeking solutions in accordance with decisions made by the Electricity Regulatory Commission and existing laws and working procedures.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Managing Director Kulman Ghising briefed the meeting about NEA's priorities, duties, and future plans.  He assured that the disputes regarding trunk and dedicated power lines would be addressed positively." The NEA anticipates reaching a concrete decision in consultation with the Electricity Tariff Fixation Commission."

National Planning Commission Vice Chair Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha and Energy Secretary Gopal Prasad Sigdel, among others were present in the meeting.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed his commitment that the present government shall not conclude any agreements against the national interest.

Participating in the discussions on a bill designed to amend the Constitutional Council (Works, Duties, Rights and Work Procedures) Act, 2066 BS in a meeting of the House of Representatives, State Affairs and Good Governance Committee today, he reiterated that the government would enter into only the agreements that are in the nation's interest.

The PM said so while making things clear from his side after the lawmakers during the discussions inquired him about what transpired in his meeting Thursday with the Minister of External Affairs of India, S Jaishankar, and the agreements Nepal signed with India.

"I had a one-on-one and Nepali delegation-level meeting with the Indian External Affairs Minister yesterday. During the meeting, I talked on matters of Nepal's national interest and the electricity trade agreement only. The electricity trade agreement is in Nepal's interest; and an agreement has been reached by which Nepal will export 10,000 megawatts of power in 10 years," he said.

Stating that it is India not alone deciding on projects of up to Rs 200 million of investment, PM Dahal made it clear that Nepal also decides and has partnership on this matter. He further said: "The main thing is that an agreement has been made by which India will buy 10,000 megawatts of power in 10 years, no matter who has produced the electricity. It is not necessary to have any doubts, and the implementation of the agreement will also be only in Nepal's national interest."

In reply to lawmakers' question that the Indian Minister for External Affairs had been concerned about the Chinese delegation's visit to Nepal, the Prime Minister said, "He (S Jaishankar) did not even mention a word about this matter during the one-to-one and the delegation-level meeting as well. That is only falsehood and propaganda; it does not have any truth."

Stating that emphasis has been laid on unanimous consensus as far as possible on the bill designed to amend the Constitutional Council (Works, Duties, Rights and Work Procedures) Act, 2066 BS, the PM insisted the amendment bill has been brought to eliminate the problems and ill practices seen in the past in constitutional appointments.

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday.

Jaishankar, who arrived in Kathmandu to take part in the seventh Nepal-India Joint Commission, held a meeting with Prime Minister Dahal at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singhadurbar.

During the meeting, matters relating to bilateral relations and mutual interest, Nepal-India long-term power trade and implementation of agreements signed with Prime Minister Dahal during his India visit were discussed, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has pointed out the need for transformation in educational policy, curriculum and structure for the reform of the country's education sector.

Addressing the Kantipur Education Summit ceremony here today, Prime Minister Dahal mentioned that the government has been carrying out activities for reforms of the educational sector.

He shared, "In the context when Nepal's higher education is facing global problems of globalization, such programs will have quality contribution for policy making with our own specialties and uniqueness in light of experiences across the world."

There are impacts of globalization at most of the areas of national life including education, said PM Dahal, adding, "There are direct impacts of globalization across the world. In developing countries like Nepal, its multifaceted impact exists as a challenge.  It has brought changes in economy, education, psychology and social structures of small and independent countries."

"We can overcome this challenge only after making changes in our educational policy, curriculum, and structures", he opined.

Stating that a negative mindset has been developed in the new generation in recent periods that there is no quality in a country's education and it could not compete in the global market, the Prime Minister stressed the need to discourage such a mindset.

The trend of brain drain of those academic personalities and those having employment opportunities in the country due to temptation of acquiring wealth in a short period was the matter of concern, he shared.

The government which has announced reforms in all the state apparatuses from today on cut down on the snack expenditures of the meeting of Council of Ministers.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal informed the meeting of the Council of Ministers held at Singha Durbar this morning that the expenditure on snacks served in the meetings of the Council of Ministers has been cut down, saying the reforms should be initiated from small topics, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

The PM Office stated that approximately Rs 60 thousand was spent on snacks in each meeting of the Council of Ministers. It is said the Council of Ministers meets more than 100 times in a year. Govinda Acharya, the Press Advisor to the Prime Minister, said that around Rs 6 million is saved annually with the cut down on the snack expenses in the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Normal snacks will be served in the meeting of the Council of Ministers from now on, the PM Secretariat said. Acharya said PM Dahal has started reforms from his own office as minor topics are also considered significant in good governance and reforms.

He added that works related to good governance and improvement would be consistently pursued ahead.

Prime Minister Dahal, who has announced to change the working style of the government, has been reaching the Prime Minister's Office at Singha Durbar at 10 am daily, except on public holidays.  He has been taking daily briefings from various ministries and initiatives for resolving the problems seen in development projects, including the national pride projects, from the Singha Durbar.

Meanwhile, the government's decision to use the Nepal Sambat calendar in all the government documents has been implemented. Acharya, the PM's press advisor, said the Nepal Sambat date has started to be used in the messages of best wishes that the PM has been issuing on various occasions.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that complaints have been received that the service seekers have not got the driving license on time.

During a meeting with the officials of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the prime minister issued a directive to make arrangements to provide the driving license at the earliest.

Saying that delay in printing the smart driving license would show the managerial weakness, Prime Minister Dahal directed the concerned officials to make arrangements in printing and distributing the smart driving license seriously.

Stating that the government and the prime minister will have to face criticism if the Ministry does not work properly, he urged the officials to be aware of the same.

“We are making qualitative changes in the process of policy program and budget formulation. The Planning commission and the Finance Ministry should also consider this carefully. Our responsibility is to develop the country,” the prime minister said, adding, “We should work seriously to restore the people’s hope. We should not leave any room for complaints.”

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced a shift in the ongoing style of the government’s annual policy and programme, and budget from the upcoming fiscal year. But he has not elaborated it well.

The PM’s remarks come at a time when the government is facing to scale up the capital expenditure. 

Addressing the nation today to unveil his government’s achievements made in the past one year, the Prime Minister admitted that traditional style of policy and programme could not bring about results and added that a new style would be embraced.

Prime Minister Dahal argued that the traditional way of budget making has failed to allocate budget to the priority projects and make true estimates on expenditure, leading to direct impact on capital expenditure. “I plan to move ahead in a new style by changing the system of policy making and budget preparation,” he added. 

Dahal also shared that the principles and priorities of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year would be made public in February and the feedback from the people’s representatives and general public would be taken on it. He stated that policy, structural and legal measures would be taken with the target to obtain a double-digit economic growth rate. 

The Prime Minister was of the view that the government is making the best possible efforts despite the journey to development and prosperity so far was not satisfactory.  The Prime Minister said that he would not make claims about the complete success of his government but announced that he would change the government's working style with this concern and self-review.

 Similarly, the Prime Minister made the announcement that he would not attend any of the public events except for some pre scheduled and compulsory ones and added that his focus would be on new policy and program, budget preparation, and resolving the issues in the areas of development and good-governance. “This will be a departure to change the government's working style. I am making changes to the structure of the Office of the Prime Minister this week,” Dahal stated.

Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has alleged that forces opposed to the federal democratic republic are scheming to mislead the people.

Addressing a meeting of the CPN (Maoist Centre) ward committee at Barpak Sulikot Mural municipality-8 in Gorkha under the party’s Special Transformation Campaign today, he said the enemies of the republic are conspiring to make the people dejected and mislead them against the republic.

“You and we all should prevent people being misled and dejected. These kinds of people do not even see the good works carried out by the government, do not want to show that to the people and also do not talk positively. They only talk negatively and are plotting to spread hopelessness among the people,” he said.

The PM stressed on the need of taking the people into confidence and convincing them to stop the anti-republic activities. He also explained that the main objective of conducting the special campaign is not only to make the party active and vigorous, but also to deepen its relations with the people and defend the change that has been brought after the struggle and sacrifices. The party Chair claimed that the campaign has been successful as per its mission.

PM Dahal also informed that the government has started preparations from now itself to bring the budget for the next fiscal year in a new way so that the people will get to experience the change.

“The trend of traditionally holding discussions on the topics of the budget from mid-February and concluding the same in mid-May will be put to an end now. This time the government will finalise the budget by mid-February in a new way so that the people will experience a change,” he added.

On a different note, the Prime Minister claimed that the present government and the coalition have become stronger and the present ruling alliance will last its full five-year term.

Stating that the incumbent government has liberated the usury victims from the exploitation of loan sharks, he said only the Maoist-led government can banish the corrupt, land Mafiosi and the smugglers.

He said the construction of the Budhigandaki Hydropower Project, a project of national pride, has been finalized and urged the party workers and the general public not to have doubts whether or not the project would be constructed.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has pledged that there would be no budgetary constraint issues for the implementation of Budhigandaki Reservoir-based Project.

Speaking at a program entitled "The Prime Minister with People's Representatives and Stakeholders” organized by the Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality in Gorkha today, he said the budget resources for Budhigandaki, the project of national pride, has been ensured. 

"Now there is no confusion over the availability of the budget for the project.  The government, through the Cabinet meeting recently, decided to allocate five percent of revenue from the physical infrastructure sector to the project."

The 1,200-megawatt project will be implemented soon, according to the Prime Minister who believes that the project implementation will pave the way for economic development, prosperity and job opportunities in Gorkha in the future.

Dahal, who is also the House of Representatives (HoR) member from the Gorkha constituency-2, said he is committed to implementing words he gave before the Gorkha folks during the election campaign period. 

Discussions are in progress to revive the Gorakhkali Rubber Industry based in Deurali of Gorkha, according to the Prime Minister.

Pressing an idea for upgrading the Aanppipal Hospital in the district to a 50-bed health facility, he pledged to initiate towards that end.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced to expand the scope of health insurance.

In an address to the nation on the occasion of the completion of one year of his government today, Prime Minister Dahal said the insurance scheme has not proceeded according to the spirit of the National Health Insurance Act introduced during his previous tenure in 2074.

But the current government will improve it to realize the constitutional right of citizens to health with a high priority, he said. For this, policy and procedural reforms for the effective implementation of insurance, capacity building of the insurance board, strong monitoring and evaluation mechanism, increasing the scope of insurance coverage and comprehensive improvement in the structure and quality of services, he informed that the government is taking care of the insurance.

The Prime Minister also expressed the commitment to increase the current ceiling in insurance coverage, while all the free health programs will be included in the health insurance in an integrated manner.

With a focus on health insurance, the health system will be developed according to the integrated health infrastructure development standards, he said.