Gandaki Province
Gandaki provincial assembly meeting scheduled on September 11
The last assembly meeting was held on July 2, and after a two-month gap, it is set to convene again.Post Report
The meeting of the Gandaki provincial assembly, which had been affected due to changes in the government, is now scheduled for September 11.
The last assembly meeting was held on July 2, and after a two-month gap, it is set to convene again. During the last session, the assembly passed the budget for the current fiscal year of the Gandaki government.
Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital informed that the meeting on September 11 was called on the government's recommendation.
There are two bills under discussion in the Gandaki provincial assembly: one regarding managing hazardous pesticides and another concerning private firms.
Just a few days ago, the government registered a bill to regulate and manage partnership firms with the parliamentary secretariat, but this bill has yet to be tabled in the House.
The province parliamentary secretariat said that the bill on the management of hazardous pesticides was referred to the relevant committee for further discussion after an initial debate in the assembly.
Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey, who was appointed on April 28, 2024, following a Supreme Court order, only completed his government on Monday. The Gandaki Province has four parliamentary committees, which are currently inactive.
In the 60-member provincial assembly, the Nepali Congress leader Pandey-led government currently has the support of 53 lawmakers. Members have also noted that the parliamentary committees have recently become inactive.
After Phanindra Devkota, Chairperson of the social development and agriculture committee, was appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Drinking Water, no new leader has been chosen. Congress lawmaker Champa Devi Khadka is the Chairperson of the provincial affairs and law committee, while Bhojraj Aryal chairs the finance and development committee.
The chair of the public accounts committee is Sudhir Kumar Paudel from the ruling party, UML. The main opposition party, the CPN (Maoist Centre), has argued that the chair of the public accounts committee should be from the Maoist Centre. Previously, Phanindra was also appointed chair under the Maoist Centre quota.
Although the government has stated that 40 laws are required for the provincial government, it has not focused on drafting the necessary bills, according to Hari Bahadur Chuman, leader of the parliamentary party of the opposition Maoist Centre.