In his petition, senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi argued that the president could not appoint these officials without a parliamentary hearing on the dissolved House of Representatives.

He urged the court to release an interim order stopping the officials from work until a final verdict on the case is completed.

Earlier on June 24, President Bhandari appointed 20 officials in various constitutional commissions in line with the recommendation by the Oli-led government.

A Constitutional Council meeting chaired by PM Oli on May 9 had recommended the names for these positions. Though the Constitution says that the officials should be appointed after a hearing by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Commission, President Bhandari appointed the officials.

This has triggered controversy across the country, and Supreme Court has registered the writ petition.

Moreover, the Oli-led government had passed an ordinance to hold council meetings even without the presence of opposition party leaders. This ordinance facilitated the Oli-led government to hold council meetings amid differences with council members, including Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota and the main opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba. Opposing the ordinance, several writ petitions are filed at the Supreme Court.

Stay Tuned to NepaliSansar for Latest Nepal Political News!

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The post Writ Petition Filed to Reject Appointment of 20 Constitutional Officials! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Province 3 Social Development Minister Yubaraj Dulal made the announcement at a program held in the municipality on September 15, 2019.

Speaking at the program, Dulal said that Bhimeshwor has met all the child friendly local governance (CFLG) indicators to become the first child-friendly local government in the Province.

The municipality was qualified based on 12 indicators (each) for child security and child participation, five for child protection, six for child development and the completion of 16 steps required to achieve the status.

At the occasion, Minister Dulal also unveiled the target to make Province 3 a child-friendly state by 2080 BS and a child marriage-free state by 2078 BS.

Meanwhile, Dulal also said that all sectors should work in coordination to meet the provision of the Nepal Constitution, which guarantees child rights.

Bhimeswor Municipality Mayor Bharat Bahadur KC, also present at the program, said that the CFLG campaign was initiated with the declaration of the child-friendly local government. He also informed that the municipality has allocated the budget for children under different categories.

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The post Bhimeshwor Declared Nepal’s First Child-Friendly Municipality in Province 3 appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In the Constitution Day Celebration main committee meeting held at Singha Durbar on August 21, 2019, all government agencies were asked to mark September 20, 2019 with grand celebrations.

All civil servants were also requested to participate in the upcoming Constitution Day celebrations.

As part of the celebrations, a special ceremony will be held at Army Pavilion in Tundikhel to mark the important day.

The special event will witness the participation of Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Timalsina, and National Assembly Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara among several other VIPs.

The Nepal Constitution Day this year will also include a rally for civil servants.

Nepal Constitution Day 2019: Prez Bhandari Greets Nepalis

Nepal celebrates Constitution Day today – September 20, 2019.

On the occasion, President Bhandari extended her greetings to all Nepalis at home and abroad and wished them integrity, mutual harmony, national unity, peace and progress.

President Bhandari confidently said that the Constitution of Nepal has embraced a federal democratic republic and ensured press freedom and inclusiveness.

She has also assured that Nepal is heading towards socialism-oriented economy as outlined in the Constitution.

Bhandari is also certain that this day would inspire all Nepalis to be motivated to the Government’s cause of Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali.

She urged all Nepali citizens to make honest and earnest efforts to put the norms and spirit of the Nepal Constitution into practice.

Prof. Dr. Rajiv Kumar Jha Honored with Prabal Janasewashree Award

Meanwhile, the Nepal Government has honored Professor Dr. Rajiv Kumar Jha with the Prabal Janasewashree Award on the occasion of Constitution Day.

Dr. Jha was awarded the honor for his contribution to the Nepal ‘research field’.

The research professor is the Director of the China-Nepal Friendship Medical Research Center of Professor of Rajiv Kumar Jha in China’s Shiyan Medical University.

The Chinese Government had established the research center in Jha’s name at a cost of NPR 50 million.

Interestingly, Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the research center on his first official China visit.

PM Oli on Upcoming Constitution Day Celebrations

Speaking at the meeting, PM Oli said that the Nepal Constitution was a document to achieve the nations’ desire of Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali.

He added that the Constitution had incorporated the greater national interests.

“The Constitution is a document of consensus. It does not fulfill the desire of every citizen as it is but addresses the greater national longing,” Prime Minister Oli said.

Talking about the contribution of Nepali leaders to the constitution, the Prime Minister said, “The Constitution is the result of sacrifice of not only their lives but other things as well. We have achieved this Constitution by enduring painful days and overcoming many obstacles.”

Stating that since the Constitution Day was a celebration for all Nepali people, it should be celebrated as a national day.

“The Constitution Day should be celebrated with great fanfare because it is the biggest Day,” Oli added.

“The Constitution comprised not only a particular class or community but also the entire residents of the country. It should be observed by illuminating our houses,” he said.

“On behalf of the government of the United States and the American people, I offer my best wishes to the people of Nepal on your Constitution Day on September 20.” – @SecPompeo https://t.co/Cvak5E5ikM pic.twitter.com/sEWx2YDN3Q

— U.S. Embassy Nepal (@USEmbassyNepal) September 20, 2019

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The post Nepal Gears Up for Constitution Day 2019 in Full Swing appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In a recent update on April 08, 2019, Nepal has announced that it is sending a team of government-appointed climbers for the project to remeasure the height of the world’s tallest peak.

Four government surveyors have already been scheduled to leave for the Everest peak on April 09, 2019.

Through this project, Nepal aims to answer persistent speculations that the ‘height of the Mount Everest has come down’ after the massive 2015 earthquake’.

“We are sending a team because there were questions regarding the height of Everest after the earthquake,” Susheel Dangol, the expedition’s coordinator from the Survey Department, said in a statement.

The four surveyors are stepping up for the project after a two-year-long detailed study on the methodology to remeasure the peak, which included collecting readings from the ground and getting trained on extreme conditions at the top of the world.

“It will not be easy to work in that terrain, but we are confident our mission will be successful,” says Khim Lal Gautam, the expedition’s leader and chief surveyor, who summited the Everest peak in 2011.

The height of Mount Everest has been a long debate because of the disagreement among geologists and mountaineers, among others over inclusion of snow atop the peak in the total measurement.

The current height of Mount Everest measures 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) as recorded by an Indian survey in 1954. This figure remained till date even though various other teams measured it later.

Height and Route to climb Mount Everest

PM Bids Farewell

PM Oli bid a farewell to the team embarking on official survey trip to the Mount Everest peak.

In a special program held in Kathmandu on April 10, 2019, Oli offered Tika and garlands to the expedition team, wishing them a grand success on their journey.

Oli was elated in saying that the survey is Nepal Government’s first-ever attempt to re-measure Everest’s height officially and results add to the government’s data treasure.

The team comprises of the Survey Department’s technical staff Khimlal Gautam, Rabin Karki, Suraj Singh Bhandari and Yuvaraj Dhital will remeasure the height of Mount Everest or Sagarmatha.

While, a team of Sherpa including Aangpasang Sherpa, Pemangima Sherpa, Chhiring Jangbu Sherpa, Keshab Poudel and Angbu Sherpa will be guiding the team in their expedition.

The Background

Following a long-standing debate on whether the 2015 earthquake in Nepal had affected the height of Mount Everest, Nepal launched a ‘national pride’ project in 2017 to remeasure the height of the Everest peak.

The Government of Nepal informed this in a statement on September 15, 2017.

“Nepal has never measured Everest on its own although the world’s highest peak lies in its territory. So, we want to prove to our people that Nepal is capable of measuring Everest,” says Ganesh Prasad Bhatta, Head of Nepali Government’s survey department.

Bhatta informed that a team of Nepali and foreign experts have already begun working on the methodology for implementation of the survey, which is expected to be a two-year process.

Under this process, a Sherpa team will be reaching the peak with necessary measuring equipment, either in April or October 2018, which is usually a favorable period on the peak, a release in 2017 informed.

Finally, the day has come on April 09, 2019!

Other important developments related to Mount Everest over the year period:

Special Fee for Foreign Tourists

A day after informing about the new project, the Government of Nepal on September 16, 2017, made another announcement for foreign tourists visiting Mount Everest.

According to Nima Dorjee Sherpa, the newly-elected Chairman of the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu District, Nepali Constituent Assembly has passed a directive asking the Rural Municipality to levy a Rs 2,000 entry fee on every foreigner visiting the Khumbu region for Mount Everest.

This decision, to be effective from October 1, 2017, was part of its efforts to promote local tourism and decentralize revenue collection to the local bodies of the country, says Nima Dorjee.

The Nepali Government was also asked to restrict other agencies and NGOs such as Nepal Mountaineering Association, Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal and Nepal Tourism Board from collecting any entry fee from foreigners visiting the Khumbu region.

Online Health Services Launched

To address the health challenges that trekkers usually face on their travel across the Everest camp, a local service provider, Everest Link has launched online health services in the region.

Now, trekkers and mountaineers traveling across the Lukla-Everest Base Camp route can get free online medical services through Wi-Fi facility.

According to Tshering Gyaljen Sherpa, CEO of Everest Link, the services are being provided in collaboration with the two hospitals based in Khumbu and Kathmandu.

As per the official data, 100,000 tourists (35,000 foreigners) are allowed to scale the peak, annually.

The post Survey to Remeasure Mt Everest Height Begins! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The government has put forward the proposal to amend 56 laws that are against the constitutional rules promulgated in 2015.

According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Dhanraj Gyawali, the government has also sent a proposal to the Cabinet regarding another bill that calls for amendment of more than 110 existing laws.

The government is pushing key bills on a fast pace considering the constitutional deadlines to amend laws, which are just two months away.

Officials are in a hurry because the constitution rules demand mandatory presentation of bills, contradicting with constitution, within one year of the first federal parliament session, in absence of which, they will be deemed invalid.

“We have identified over 170 such laws that need to be amended. Due to time constraint, most of the amendments will be made in bulk through a single bill while separate bills will be registered to amend a few laws which need massive changes,” says Dhanraj.

Single Bill for 56 Laws Altogether
The bill titled ‘Some Nepal Act Amendment Bill’ was registered on December 24, 2018 to amend 56 laws in bulk related to the Local Administration Act (2028 BS), Education Act (2028 BS), along with laws pertaining to the registration of birth, death and other social incidents, Municipal Development Act, Electricity Act, Forest Act, among others.

The Bill calls for allocation of powers to local governments in issuing operational licenses to FM radio stations up to 100 watts, through amendment of provisions in the Broadcasting Act.

The Bill also include amendments to the Anti Money Laundering Act by categorizing office bearers of local units and provincial government as domestic VIPs.

In addition to amending the laws and provisions against the constitutional spirit, the Bill has also proposed amendments to other laws to make them compatible with the government’s latest policies.

Earlier in the September 2018, the government had passed all the Fundamental Rights laws, which included Bills on Individual Privacy, Public Security, Social Security, Right to Food, among others.

Then the government had also announced that it would endorse more than 100 laws in the coming months period.

“There are 110 laws that need to be enacted to ensure constitution implementation. Of them, 37 are yet to be drafted. Some of the issues will also be addressed by the Civil and Criminal Code that comes into force on August 17,” said the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Tamang in a release in September 2018.

The post Nepal Plans Bulk Amendments to 110 Existing Laws appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepali Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Tham Maya Thapa issued a statement as part of the Sixth Periodic Review of Nepal at the session.

Thapa informed CEDAW about the steps and measures taken by the Government of Nepal towards safeguarding women rights, end discrimination against women and implementable measures for women empowerment.

Speaking in detail about the initiatives, Thapa informed that Nepal Government has enacted 16 laws in support of fundamental rights and freedoms provisions as promulgated by the constitution.

She went on to say that Nepal has made important achievements to institutionalize women’s rights since the time it ratified CEDAW.

“Nepal became a state party to CEDAW when the multiparty system was restored in the country in the early 1990s. We have been making efforts in line with the set principles and spirit of CEDAW since then,” reads Thapa’s statement.

Speaking further on active women participation in national politics, Thapa said, “Women’s representation through election has reached over 40 percent. This level of participation of women at the political and policy making level has set a milestone in the history of women representation in Nepal,”

She spoke on various other issues pertaining to safeguarding of women rights and women empowerment.

See: Full Statement of Tham Maya Thapa to the 71^st CEDAW Session

Another Nepali official, the Ambassador/Permanent Representative Deepak Dhital also highlighted Nepal Government’s initiatives towards social equality, equality, socio-economic empowerment and status enhancement of Nepali women in an inclusive manner.

He said the government is currently reviewing and revisioning the existing laws along with developing new legal frameworks under its federal set-up.

See: Full text of H.E. Deepak Dhital’s Statement to the 71^st CEDAW Session

Other officials including the Joint Secretary of Women Ministry Radhika Aryal and Joint Secretary of Nepali Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Phanindra Gautam also informed the delegates about legal provisions put forth by the Government of Nepal.

Besides participating in interactive sessions, Minister Thapa thanked for a constructive dialogue with the CEDAW Committee and hoped this would help Nepal strengthen its efforts towards promotions and protection of rights of women.

The post 71st CEDAW Session: Nepal Reiterates Commitment to Women Rights appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As a global initiative of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), NPI has been actively focused on social and economic development of Nepal.

In a recent move, NPI has decided to unveil its Strategic Plan (2019-2021) for the country’s development at a plenary session of the first Global Knowledge Conference to be held in Kathmandu during October 12-14, 2018.

“After 10 months of internal preparation, NPI is all set to unveil its Strategic Plan for 2019-2021 and this will be NPI’s first public presence while the team was working internally for several months,” says NPI Chair Khagendra Dhakal.

As part of its plan, NPI will be presenting eminent speakers to discuss development policies of Nepal, Dhakal adds.

Why Nepal Policy Institute (NPI)?

To a question on what different NPI will make compared to the other existing think-tanks, Dhakal clarified saying, “NPI is not to take other’s space in Nepal but to strengthen think-tank and public policy research, analysis and advocacy ecosystem in Nepal through collaboration, partnership and exchanges.”

Dhakal was confident in saying that NPI makes difference with its swift, wide range and multi-angled strategy recommendations for effective implementation of the country’s public policy.

“What makes NPI unique is that it will bring the world resources to Nepal and bring Nepali experience to the world by promoting Nepal in the global arena,” adds Dhakal.

According to Dhakal, NPI will be a consortium of Nepali-origin public policy experts, practitioners, researchers and consultants globally working in collaboration and partnership with people and institutions working in the interest of Nepal and Nepali people, including Nepali diaspora.

NPI aims to work as a border-less organization working and connecting Nepalis, globally.

Focus & Priorities
As the first step in its strategy, Dhakal said they would work with the National Planning Commission (NPC) towards identifying national needs and priorities before deciding on the final action plan.

NPI’s current list of core activities includes labor migration, utilization of remittances, revenue & expenditure management across the provincial & local levels, international investment, trade, and tourism.

Besides, the organization has some long-term priority tasks including R&D for economic diversification, value addition in health, environment, agriculture and natural resources, and meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under UN 2030 Agenda.

NPI & First Global Knowledge Conference 2018

NPI’s plans as part of the Global Knowledge Conference 2018 include:

• NPI Proposal Presentation by NPI Executive Member Sharad Neupane
• Speech by the National Planning Commission’s Vice Chair Pushpa Kadel, NRNA Founder and International Coordinator Bhim Udash, Foreign Secretary Shanker Bairagi and Krishna Adhikari from Oxford University on the role of Nepali diaspora in developing effective policies for Nepal
• Panel discussion on NPI’s proposal involving NRNA President Bhaban Bhatta, Economist Madan Kumar Dahal and Nepali social leader and NPI Executive Committee Member Sharu Joshi Shrestha

 
Former Nepali Foreign & Finance Minister Bhekh Bahadur Thapa is going to chair the session that will be moderated by NPI Chair Dhakal.

NPI will finalize its strategy based on the inputs of the session, informed Dhakal.

The Background
NPI is a result of NRNA’s 15-year-long journey across the global network and emerged out of a dire need for policy institute in Nepal as part of NRNA Vision 2020 and Beyond.

The concept of NPI was first tabled at the NRNA Convention 2017 along with the vision document, which received a wide applaud from the global diaspora.

Further, NPI was integrated with the Constitution and the current President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed Hongkong-based Dhakal as its Chair for further development.

In the next 10 months’ time after the prior announcement, NPI spread its wings with a new steering and research committees and formed its medium-term Founding Strategic Plan.

Now, the organization is all set to present its Strategic Plan (2019-2021) for Nepal as part of the Global Knowledge Conference during October 12-14, 2018.

The post NRNA: NPI’s Maiden Public Policy Plan 2019-21 for Nepal Soon! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In a session conducted on September 20, 2018, chairpersons of the ten parliamentary thematic committees were elected unopposed and six women from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) alone secured the positions for committees under the House of Representatives.

Niru Devi Pal, Shashi Shrestha, Kalyani Khadka, Purna Kumari Subedi, Pabitra Kharel Niraula and Jayapuri Gharti were among the elected.

With this, the number of federal parliament committees led by women grows to eight.

On the other hand, the National Assembly will also have parliamentary committees led by women.

In total, the Federal Parliament has 16 thematic committees with 10 in the House of Representatives and four in the National Assembly and two joint ones.

Elected female lawmakers are looking at this development as a step to fulfilling the constitutional requirements that mandate active women participation in the country’s policy-making.

Shashi Shrestha, one of the elected lawmakers, feels that the proper implementation of the constitutional provision has begun with this development.

The post Women Lawmakers on Rise in Nepal Parliament appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Through this move, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation is aimed at controlling illegal investments happening through unlawful transactions.

Following the Department of Cooperatives’ enforcement of the Directive on Money Laundering Prevention for Cooperatives in March 2017, the government in October 2017 decided to form a new Cooperative Act to include cooperatives under the new legal framework.

The directive has reportedly prohibited many co-operatives from indulging in fraudulent activities by imposing a fine on those involving in fake practices or not maintaining proper records of their members.

Despite this, still there are many individuals using cooperatives as a means to conduct illicit transactions, informed the Land Ministry.

“Cooperative businesses are still a safe haven for money earned by illegal means. These cooperatives have been allowing all their members to make investments without asking them to disclose the source of funds,” said the Land Ministry Secretary Gopi Nath Mainali, in his address at a program organized by the Society of Economic Journalists Nepal.

In a movie making the norms stricter, the government will soon table a new directive in the Parliament for more transparency in the cooperatives’ functioning.

“By introducing the clause through the act, the government aims to tighten the noose on such transactions in a more effective manner,” says Mainali.

One will be surprised to know that Nepal currently has 34,512 cooperatives operating in the country including 14,000 savings and credit cooperatives, who have issued deposits worth Rs 302.2 billion and loans worth Rs 274.2 billion in 2016.

Surprisingly, more than 600 cooperatives are having an annual turnover of Rs 50 million and more.

Owing to their high presence and role being played, the government identified the cooperatives sector as one of the three pillars of the Nepali economy.

And, with the formation of federal governance, 29,000 cooperatives fell under the local governments’ jurisdiction. Unfortunately, lack of an effective monitoring mechanism and manpower at the local level resulted in poor implementation of the laws and rise of irregularities in the cooperative sector.

Hope the new directive to be tabled in the Parliament will address the sector’s irregularities.

The post Cooperative Sector Under Govt. Scan in Nepal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As the reports say, the two Houses of Federal Parliament have formally given their nod to 16 bills required to guarantee the constitution-defined fundamental rights, through suspension of the rules.

With this, the government has met the constitutional deadline on September 17, 2018, a day before the period set for passing pending bills i.e. September 18, 2018.

In order to meet the September 18, 2018 deadline, the time required to register amendments has also been cut down to 12 hours from the actual period of 72 hours, for timely authentication of the bills from the President.

The move followed three different meetings held at the National Assembly on September 16, 2018, to forward the bills to the Parliament, following which the House of Representatives endorsed all in a single meeting.

Nine of the endorsed bills were freshly-drafted, while seven of them underwent amendments to necessary provisions in the existing laws in line with the citizens’ fundamental rights.

Some of the Key Fundamental Rights Bills Endorsed Recently Include:

• Bill on Individual Privacy
• Bill on Public Security
• Racial Discrimination and Untouchability (offense and punishment, first amendment) Bill
• Bill related to Social Security
• Bill on Compulsory and Free Education
• Right to Food
• Bill on Right to Residence
• Land Bill
• Protection of the Victims of Crime and Rights of Children
• Environment Conservation and Rights of Disabled People
• Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights
• Public Health Bill
• Bill on Employment Rights
• Bill on Consumer Rights

Further, these laws will undergo authentication by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on September 18, 2018, after the Federal Parliament present the same to the Presidential Office by end of the day.

Also Read:

• Foray of New Laws in Nepal, 110 new ones by Sep’18

The post Nepal Passes All Fundamental Rights Laws, Meets Deadlines appeared first on Nepali Sansar.