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The members of Parliament raise their concerns on social and national issues. These issues range from health to education to infrastructure to policies at both national and constituency levels. It is the job of the MPs to draw attention of the government to the problems that need fixing. And in case there are some lapses and oversights on the part of the government, it is also the duty of the MPs to hold the executive to account. But are the concerns and suggestions that come out of Parliament ever reach the government? What are the procedures in place to ensure that the legislative and the executive arms of government are working together. Ekaram Giri, spokesperson for the House of Representatives, says the ministries usually send their representatives to attend the parliamentary meetings. It is the task of these representatives to report the matters discussed in meetings to their respective ministries. Besides, Giri adds, the House sessions are broadcast live for everyone to see. So, the ministers who cannot make time to show up in parliamentary meetings can always remain updated. Whether or not the ministers choose to stay in the loop is another story entirely. Speaking at a special time in the meeting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, several lawmakers pointed out the issues of public importance and a few suggested ways to resolve them. Here is what they had to say: Arju Deuba, Nepali Congress I am suggesting ways to improve the education quality in government schools. There has been a lot of politics in the formation of school management committees. The existing guidelines should be updated to change the way these committees work. To make an environment for English medium teaching in primary schools, necessary rules, policies and resources should be ensured. It is necessary to increase the admission rate in schools. Every aspect of society should pay attention to this. Let us clarify the rights and authority of the three-tier government. Let us evaluate the performance of teachers and students. It is also necessary to regularly inspect and evaluate schools. Students and teachers should be rewarded and punished on the basis of the results. Madhav Sapkota, CPN-Maoist Center Only those who have never been in the position of privilege and profit in their life should be appointed to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority. People who have enjoyed exercising authority should not go to the commission, as they will be influenced in one way or the other. Our constitutional bodies and agencies have been turned into clubs for the retired bureaucrats. It is like people go there to enjoy power, to rest, and to spend time like aristocrats. Sumana Shrestha, Rastriya Swatantra Party Why is there an emergency postponement of parliamentary meetings? If we cannot coordinate between the Cabinet and Parliament, how will we coordinate between many ministries and agencies in  big projects? Is the taxpayers’ money so cheap? Is this because the money does not come out of our pocket? Let's call a mistake a mistake. A tendency is being set where the state resources and the precious time meant for parliamentary business are being wasted at the whims and fancies of the government. Amresh Kumar Singh, independent The citizenship bill was not passed by the government because it concerns the children of the poor. Had it been the question of the children of the prime minister or former prime ministers, it would have long been passed. The children of the poor people are suffering because they do not have citizenship documents. Every government and its leaders promise to solve the citizenship problem, but they are working in the shadows to stop its passage. I have seen such double standards when I was a member of the parliamentary committee for state administration. The previous government deliberately blocked the passage of the citizenship bill. The ruling MPs at the time put the bill on hold. The problem of citizenship is the problem of the poor, and since they do not have any power, ignoring their concern is easy. When a select community tries to run the government as per their convenience and vested interest, there is a risk of the country plunging into a crisis. If that happens, no one will be more accountable than those few individuals who have served as the prime minister of this country in the recent decades. Uday Shumsher JB Rana, Nepali Congress The government must find the short- and long-term ways to control the worsening air pollution of Kathmandu Valley. Incidence of forest fires and seemingly unending road widening projects in and around the Valley have contributed to the rising air pollution problem. Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, Nepali Congress The government should open transit points along the Nepal-China border in Humla. It takes a two-day walk from Khatyad of Mugu to reach the district headquarters. Open an area administration office within the municipality. Ranju Kumari Jha, Janata Samajbadi Party The government should arrange fertilizers for farmers. There has been a government to government agreement with India to bring fertilizers in the country, so why has the Salt Trading Corporation been given the tender to bring fertilizer? Why has the government planned to bring low grade chemicals from Iran revoking the past government’s decisions? This government must give answers. Prem Suwal, Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party It will be disastrous to let Nepal’s private companies involved in hydropower generation sell the energy to India. The government should sell the green energy to India only after meeting the domestic energy requirement

Since its establishment in December 1985, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has sought to increase economic integration between India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This bloc, designed to accelerate economic and social progress of member-states, has failed to deliver while similar regional trading bodies such as the European Union, ASEAN, BIMSTEC and NAFTA continue to do quite well. Contrary to the four above-mentioned bodies, trade between SAARC member-states has remained limited, though these states are in close proximity and each of them is part of world trade. A growing emphasis on attracting foreign investment and seeking access to new markets in the SAARC region indicates that economic progress is central to the future of South Asia. Historically, SAARC has played a limited role and this is unlikely to change in the  foreseeable future because of India’s considerable position of power over other SAARC states. This imbalance of power allows conflicts between India and its neighbors to undermine economic integration within the SAARC framework. This factor resulted in the establishment of BIMSTEC consisting of SAARC states and Thailand, a Southeast Asian country. Non-consensus between South Asian countries on different issues has rendered regional trade agreements largely ineffective, making way for SAARC states to advance their economic interests through bi-lateral agreements, thereby reducing their incentives to engage multilaterally. In the future, SAARC is likely to become more of a forum for regional negotiations through conferences and seminars than as an architect of regional economic policy. Over the decades since the establishment of SAARC, India and some other member-states have increased their focus on economic development. Since 1991, when a debt crisis forced it to undertake a serious program of market-oriented economic reforms, India in particular and other South Asian countries in general gradually opened up their economies to the world. Over time, the South Asia region has moved from a closed economy with heavy central planning to a more privatized economy with lower tariffs, resulting in increased growth rate for the regional economy after 1991. Foreign investment has been increasing in India and other South Asian countries after the start of economic liberalization in the region. To sustain their growth, these countries have sought access to new markets and an increase in foreign investment. Foreign policies of countries in the region have placed serious emphasis on increasing their economic growth. This emphasis on growth is likely to continue in the future. Looking back, the shift toward market economy in 1991 brought ‘irreversible’ changes in the region's economic thinking—changes that will force this region to remain active in the global economy. A majority of South Asian leaders, irrespective of their political parties, believe that globalization and privatization are necessary for the whole region to reduce its mass poverty. This has led SAFTA signatories to gradually reduce tariffs and other trade barriers over the past decades, while several other commitments remain on paper. Nepal and Sri Lanka, both reliant on the Indian economy as a supplier and market for their goods, would like to increase intra-regional trade and foreign investment in their developing industries. Bangladesh is also looking for new markets to export goods. These examples show SAARC states want regional trade to expand. But the very structure of SAARC often makes regional cooperation difficult. Within the SAARC, India is the strongest member-state in terms of economic gains and international influence. Its regional supremacy gives SAARC the unique features not found in ASEAN. Pakistan was initially unwilling to join SAARC, fearing that the Indian domination would end up rendering the bloc ineffective. Smaller states in South Asia realize that they will need India’s help to facilitate faster economic growth, though they are reluctant to work with India fearing the latter’s dominance of SAARC. Bangladesh is afraid of India exploiting its geographical location to redirect water flows vital to its farms. Nepal and Bhutan are still worried about India’s control over their world trade and transit links as their geographical position will always make them dependent on India. These and other neighboring realities have directly affected SAARC. Attempting to promote regional cooperation while doing little to resolve regional conflicts makes realization of SAARC’s cherished goals nearly impossible. Moreover, SAARC has no up-to-date institutional mechanisms that can address the issue of lack of consensus on thorny issues . Currently, trade between South Asian states remains relatively low compared to other regional blocs. Moreover, political and economic ties between states rest on shaky foundations. Non-consensus  among countries in the region have made regional cooperation difficult, making way for bilateral efforts to achieve economic goals. SAARC is still a valuable forum for political dialogue in South Asia, but conflicts and tensions between member-states have taken a toll on its possible economic role in the region. Until these conflicts are resolved to the point where South Asian states are willing to reduce barriers to trade, an economically interdependent South Asia seems to be more of a dream than reality. In such a context, will BIMSTEC be able to reactivate the  SAARC? The author is former deputy executive director, Trade and Export Promotion Center  

Energy sector stakeholders at the Power Summit 2023 have called on India to provide Nepal an opportunity to sell its electricity in different kinds of Indian power markets. The southern neighbor so far has allowed Nepal to sell the power in the day-ahead market. The stakeholders also asked for more flexible guidelines on providing market access to Nepal’s power to the Indian market. Currently, India provides market access on a project-to-project basis and the export of electricity has to go through several approval processes with Indian authorities. Nepali officials say that a long-term inter-government agreement would help to end the existing red tape in the approval process. The day-ahead market is the type of market where the price of electricity is fixed a day before the trading of power. Ever since the southern neighbor allowed Nepal to sell its power in India’s power market starting in November 2021, Nepal has only been selling its power in this market. Speaking at the Power Summit 2023, organized by the Independent Power Producers' Nepal (IPPAN), government officials said real-time trading and long-term markets are other options that Nepal wants to guarantee from India to sell its electricity. “It is necessary to have every type of market available for selling Nepal’s power in India,” said Dinesh Ghimire, Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, at one of the discussion sessions during the summit. “India has also assured us that it will provide access to all types of markets.” He said that the government was also seeking to sign a long-term inter-government agreement of trading of power between the two neighbors. Nepal is seeking a 25-year-long inter-governmental agreement with India on selling Nepal’s surplus power. During the 10th Joint Steering Committee meeting held in India in February, Indian officials had notified Nepal that it was working to allow Nepal to participate in real-time trading of power in the Indian market. Access to the real-time market would allow Nepal to sell power anytime and prevent power from being spilled. Nepal sold electricity worth over Rs 11 billion in the last wet season (June-November 2022) in the Indian day-ahead market. Kul Man Ghising, Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) also expressed hope that the real-time trading market and long-term market would be opened very soon by the Indian regulator for Nepal’s power. “There is a very optimistic scenario for the export market,” he said. “If we cannot be confident about the domestic and export market, we cannot attract investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector.” Nepal is seeking access to all types of India’s power market as the country is seeking to become a net exporter of power in the next few years. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the two-day summit that began on Tuesday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said Nepal could be a net power exporter by 2025. “Due to the accelerated pace of development of hydropower projects both from Independent Power Producers ( IPPs) and state utilities, we anticipate to be a net exporter of electricity by 2025 without any need to import even in the dry season,” he said. He said that even though Nepal’s key priority was to ensure high domestic consumption of electricity, Nepal is seeking to export power to protect the huge amount of money already invested in power generation until enough infrastructure is built in Nepal to utilize the generated electricity internally. “It is of equal importance, for economic reasons, to engage ourselves in the cross-border power trade in view of utilizing cheap and diverse resources existing in the region and sub-region,” he said. Bhupinder Singh, Director of Energy of Confederation of Indian Industries said that Nepal’s export to India would help the Indian market to be more competitive. “Indian consumers want a cheaper market and efforts should be made to make the price of electricity cheaper,” he mentioned. However, Nepali officials said that Nepal’s hydropower has continued to remain cheaper. Energy Secretary Ghimire said that the prices of Nepal’s hydropower should not be compared with that of the solar and wind energy in India. “Nepal’s hydropower will play a balancing role in India’s energy market,” he said.

As electioneering heats up for the crucial by-election set to take place in Tanahun-1, Bara-2 and Chitwan-2, senior cross-party leaders are pouring into these constituencies to back their candidates. Typically, a by-election in three constituencies is not a national event. But not this one. The April 23 by-election will be a litmus test for the old parties and the new ones. Its results will show the mood of the voters, whether they still support the old  forces, or prefer the new dynamic parties to lead them. In Tanahun and Chitwan constituencies, a three-way competition is expected among the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, and the Rastriya Swatantra Party.   In Bara-2 the main contest is between the CK Raut-led Janamat Party and the Janata Samajbadi Party headed by Upendra Yadav, who himself is competing for the seat. The Swatantra Party and Janamat Party emerged as agents of change and alternative to old parties through the general elections held in November last year. Some political analysts say despite some controversies and hiccups, these two parties still hold a significant influence among the voters. Major political parties like the Congress and UML, and Yadav’s Samajbadi Party, a dominant political force in the Madhes region, are aware of the immense popularity gained by the upstart political parties. In Bara-2, where the by-election is being held after Ram Sahay Yadav was elected the Vice President, it is a do or die test for Janata Samajbadi leader Yadav, who lost in the last year’s general elections to Janamat Party’s Raut from Saptari-2. Raut, who aspires to become an influential leader from the Madhes region, is trying to defeat Yadav once again. In Tanahun-1 and Chitwan-2, it is the RSP against the NC and UML candidates. The RSP has fielded economist and former Congress member Swarnim Wagle in Tanahun-1. The party chair, Rabi Lamichhane, himself is re-contesting the seat from Chitwan-2, which he had lost over an invalid citizenship case. For the NC, winning the by-election in Tanahun-1, a seat vacated by its leader Ram Chandra Poudel after being elected the country’s President, is a matter of prestige. It has fielded Govinda Bhattarai, a Tanahun resident, against RSP’s Wagle, who hails from Gorkha. Wagle, who once described himself as a lifelong NC supporter, recently severed ties with the party, noting his immense displeasure with the Congress leadership, particularly the party leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and his wife Arzu Rana Deuba. Within days, he joined the RSP and was named the by-election candidate from Tanahun-1. If Wagle wins the by-election, it will be a serious blow to the NC. Political analyst Puranjan Acharya says Wagle’s win could trigger a departure of many NC supporters, especially the young ones. A cursory look at the social media trends already indicates this possibility. Many Congress sympathizers and cadres are supporting Wagle’s candidacy, and criticizing the Congress leadership for pushing him away. Wagle could very well pull off a victory in Tanahun-1, handing an electoral upset to the NC—and a lesson to the party leadership. For a long time, the Congress party has remained a divided house due to the bitter relationship between its two leaders, President Poudel and Govinda Raj Joshi. Joshi still holds a significant sway among Tanahun voters. Come April 23, approximately 7,000 of his supporters are said to vote for Wagle to defeat NC’s Bhattarai. The nationwide craze behind the RSP could also work in favor of Wagle. In the last year’s general elections, scores of youths studying or working abroad had convinced their parents, grandparents and relatives in Nepal to vote for Ghanti (bell), the election symbol of the RSP. The same scenario could play out in the upcoming by-election. Besides, Wagle holds a dazzling CV and is highly regarded both by a section of the intelligentsia as well as common people, making him a formidable candidate. The UML has fielded former Nepal Police chief Sarbendra Khanal in Tanahun-1, and the party is banking on possible vote splitting between Bhattarai and Wagle to win the constituency. But analysts say it’s a long shot, as scores of UML voters are also showing their support to Wagle. For the RSP, winning the by-election in Tanahun-1 and Chitwan-2 will be gaining a significant vote of confidence from the public. Soon after the party won 20 seats in the lower house of federal parliament, it was caught up in one controversy after another. First, its leader Lamichhane was accused and found guilty by the court for presenting invalid citizenship certificate to contest the polls and lost his positions as the Home Minister and the lawmaker. Following the incident, Lamichhane made several controversial remarks at a press meet against the mainstream media, editors and publishers, and announced to recall its ministers from the government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Most recently, the RSP was caught up in another controversy, where its lawmaker Dhaka Ram Shrestha was caught on a recorded telephone conversation, soliciting bribes from businessman Durga Prasai. Analysts say the by-election results of Tanahun-1 and Chitwan-2 will show whether the voters are still behind the RSP and behind its charismatic leader, Lamichhane. The victory will also establish the RSP as a clear contender to the traditional political parties, mainly to the NC, the UML and the CPN (Maoist Party), in the next local and parliamentary elections. For Lamichhane, who is once again contesting the by-election from Chitwan-2, securing a back-t0-back victory is highly likely, despite his reputation and popularity taking some beating due to dual citizenship and passport controversy. As for the NC, which emerged as the largest party in parliament in the last year’s general elections, losing the Tanahun and Chitwan constituencies, despite the backing from the Maoists and the CPN (Unified Socialist) voters, could have a psychological impact on the party’s rank and file. A defeat means the party’s political base is eroding. Congress has mobilized its two general secretaries, Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma, to rally the voters behind the party. The duo is joined by a bevy of influential party leaders, and they are all trying hard to win the by-election, particularly in Tanahun-1. To this end, they are trying to portray Wagle as someone who betrayed his former party and as an opportunist who joined the RSP to become a parliamentarian. Wagle remains undeterred. Speaking at an election rally on Monday, he claimed that the ruling coalition has set upon him all the political and state mechanisms to beat him in the by-election. Political analyst Acharya says NC President Deuba has made his mission to stop Wagle’s political rise at all cost. If the party loses the by-election, he says it will send out a big tremor inside the Congress and his leadership will have to take the blame for the consequences.