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Heavy rainfall since Monday has triggered a series of floods and landslides in different parts of the country. 

Many streams and rivers surpassed their critical thresholds, breaching their banks and submerging nearby settlements, while there were also reports of highway landslides disrupting the vehicular movement. 

The Weather Forecasting Division attributed the heavy rainfall to the monsoon wind patterns and a low-pressure system near Bihar, India. Authorities have issued alert warnings for those settlements situated close to streams and rivers.  

Several riverside settlements in Kathmandu Valley were submerged as a result of overnight downpour. People were seen salvaging their goods and draining out flood waters from their homes on Tuesday morning.  

A landslide on the Kali river obstructed the crucial Narayangadh-Muglin highway in Ichhakamana Rural Municipality-6, Chitwan. The two-way traffic movement along the highway was halted due to the landslide, stranding hundreds of vehicles and passengers. However, traffic in both directions resumed later.

A section of Prithvi Highway, between Damauli and Dumre in Tanahun, also collapsed as a result of incessant rainfall. Floods and landslides have also significantly impacted other major highways, including the Banepa-Sindhuli-Bardibas section of BP Highway, the Hetauda-Sindhuli-Gaighat-Chatara segment of Madan Bhandari Highway, and the Khurkot-Ghurmi stretch of Pushpa Lal Highway.

In another incident, a landslide struck a house at Sigre of Bagmati Rural Municipality-5 in Makwanpur, in which one person was killed and six others, including three children, were unaccounted for.The deceased was identified as 55-year-old Shanta Maya Syangtan. At the time of writing, a team deployed by the District Police Office, Makwanpur, was still searching for the missing people.

Also, a person from Dhanusha and another individual from Rautahat lost their lives due to drowning in the swollen river.

In Shuklaphanta Municipality-7, Kanchanpur, security personnel rescued two women who were stranded in the floodwaters of the Kalapani stream. The two women were tending to their cattle when they were caught in a flash flood caused by the torrential rainfall upstream.  

The rainfall overnight has also caused significant damage to crops in different parts of the country. 

The flooded Doda stream wreaked havoc on paddy and sugarcane fields in Tilaki of Kanchanpur district. As many as 24 farmers lost their valuable crops.

In Kailali, the rain-swollen Godawari stream damaged temples and shrines in the Godawaridham area. A quick response from security personnel and local youths prevented potential casualties by rescuing those who were trapped in the flood waters. As the flood receded, there was debris scattered everywhere.

Around 40 people have died and nearly as many are missing in monsoon-related disasters this year, according to officials at the Home Ministry. According to the Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction Portal of Nepal government, over 4,000 families have been affected by floods and landslides in the past one year, killing 101 people. Sixty-four people are still missing.

Monsoon in Nepal typically starts in mid-June and ends in September. Casualties, highway obstructions and property damage are common occurrences during this period. 

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the security agencies  to remain on high alert to respond to potential monsoon-related disasters.

The main opposition CPN-UML upped its ante against the government on Tuesday, warning that it will not let the House function unless the government forms a high-level parliamentary committee to investigate the incident of a 100-kg gold consignment passing undetected through the high-security Tribhuvan International Airport on July 20. The illegal consignment, concealed in brake shoes of motorcycles and scooters, was intercepted and seized outside the airport at Sinamangal.      

Yogesh Bhattarai, a lawmaker from the CPN-UML, pointed out that government authorities like the customs, TIA management, immigration and law enforcement were caught napping on that fateful day.

He said, “This incident calls for questioning the Home Minister and the Finance Minister. Who will grill them if not a high-level committee?”

Bhattarai reasoned that the facts will not come to light unless a high-level parliamentary panel investigates the security breach, implying that subordinate agencies will find it hard to bring the ministers under the purview of a probe. 

The day saw another opposition party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, also calling for a high-level probe into the case.  

Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chair and lawmaker Rajendra Lingden claimed that the government itself did not want the House to function, even as it continued to blame the opposition for stalling the proceedings. “Police and CIAA investigations have also been incomplete. The government should relent to the demand for a high-level committee.”

Lingden suspected that fear of its collapse may have prevented the government from constituting a high-level probe panel. He accused the three major parties of holding the country hostage through shady deals. 

“These parties are striving to form an unconstitutional power center through secretive talks.”  

Lingden urged Speaker Devraj Ghimire to clarify on the unparliamentary practice of the three parties making decisions and imposing them on other parties as this practice was going on under his watch. 

Lawmaker and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane also stood in favor of forming a high-level parliamentary probe panel for a credible investigation into the 100-kg gold case. 

House adjourned  

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha tried to allay, in particular, the main opposition’s concerns while responding to questions raised in the House regarding the 100-kg illegal gold case. Shrestha asked the opposition to give the investigating agency, CIB, 35 days, stressing the need to have faith in the state’s agencies. He pointed out that transnational criminals were turning the country into a transit for gold smuggling, thereby deeply impacting the national security and the economy. 

However, the CPN-UML was far from impressed. It stated that the Home Minister had failed to answer most of its questions. As the obstruction continued, Speaker Ghimire adjourned the meeting till 1 pm, Wednesday.     

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact that was signed between the Ministry of Finance and the US Government around six years ago has reached the entry into force (EIF) phase.

According to the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)-Nepal Development Committee, preparations are on to announce the date for EIF regarding the MCC soon. The Compact was endorsed by the federal parliament along with a 12-point descriptive note in February last year.

Initially, it was agreed that $500m shall be provided in grants to Nepal, while the government shall bear $130m, expecting the total cost of the MCC project to remain at $630m. But the ‘supplemental agreement’ over the MCC that was signed in last May-June, demands that the government bear additional $67m, seeking its total contribution of $197m.

Nepal was supposed to take up the 20.63 percent economic responsibility for the MCC project and now it has risen to 28.26 percent. The increased responsibility amount is equivalent to Rs 900m. The preparations for the announcement of EIF date without meeting all the preconditions is another concern regarding the implementation of projects.

The acquisition of land for the implementation of MCC Nepal Compact projects, as well as the guarantee of the land use rights within forest areas is still incomplete. The Compact mandates the project implementing body, MCA-Nepal, to complete the projects within five years of the declaration of EIF. But there are doubts the projects will complete on time. 

This article primarily highlights the factors contributing to the increase in the cost of Compact implementation and sheds light on the reasons behind the decision to proceed with the EIF without fulfilling all the prerequisites. 

On May 23, the government decided to endorse the Finance Ministry’s proposal to revise the agreement between Nepal and the MCC and increase the government’s contribution to the projects. On the basis of the decision, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and the MCA-Nepal on May 30 signed the ‘supplemental agreement’. 

The MCA-Neal has issued a public statement stating that the government has decided to include additional endeavors included in the electricity transmission projects under the MCC Compact at the request of the NEA. The statement further mentions that the additional budget of $67m required to implement these additional endeavors will be managed from the major budget of the Compact. In the event of the full utilization of the allocated budget, the insufficient funds will be borne by the NEA.

The additional budget required for the implementation of the Compact is to be considered as the government's contribution, and it will be adjusted in the relevant schedule of the Compact. Road and electricity projects are the areas of priorities for Nepal as identified by the MCC Compact signed on 14 Sept 2017. As per the statement, the cost amount of $67m which has been recently added will be spent for the construction of the section of the 400kV New Butwal-Gorakhpur Nepal-India Inter-country transmission line toward the Nepal side and for increasing the capacity of three substations.

This transmission line project is in the construction phase. However, it is not clear why the additional budget for the construction of the transmission line from New Butwal Substation to the India border is already mentioned before in the MCC Compact. The Schedule-1 (B) (1) of the MCC Compact states that the transmission line project will be constructed under MCA-Nepal.

It is mentioned in the Compact that around 300 kilometers of double circuit 400 kV transmission line would be constructed within Nepal. The Compact states that the transmission line would be constructed on five different routes—from Lapsiphedi of Kathmandu up to Ratamaate, from Ratamate to Hetauda, from Ratamate to Damauli, from Damauli to Butwal and from Butwal to the India border. This means that the plan of constructing the transmission line from Butwal to the India border for which the added cost has been managed is included in the existing cost of $630m.

When the RSS approached the MCA-Nepal for its comment regarding allocation of additional budget for the construction of the transmission line on this route, officials stated that the amount added in the MCC Nepal Compact programme would be merged with the Electricity Transmission Project budget, and it would be used for increasing the capacity of three substations by installing extra 'bays' as per the requirement and request of the NEA.

Asked whether the amount merged in this way can be termed as an increment in the project's cost, MCA-Nepal’s information officer Rajib Dahal said the cost automatically goes up when extra work has to be carried out. “Additional work of expanding the capacity of the under-construction three substations by installing extra bays is being carried out from the amount added on behalf of the Government of Nepal to the MCC Nepal Compact, as per the NEA's need and request,” he said.

The countdown for the five-year project will begin from the day of EIF. According to the preliminary agreement, EIF was supposed to start on 30 June 2020. However, many factors like a dispute in getting the compact endorsed from the parliament caused the delay. 

Despite the delay of nearly two years, MCA-Nepal has not yet completed the preparation works to ensure smooth execution of the projects. Land acquisition as a prerequisite for EIF has yet to take place. According to Section 8.1 of Article 8 of the MCC Compact, the government will ensure the full and expeditious cooperation of all relevant government entities to ensure that all land acquisition, site access, and forest clearance required to implement the Compact is provided in a timely manner, and consistent with all MCC policies. 

Asked about the implementation of the Compact, the MCC Nepal said the date for its implementation would be announced within the Nepali month of Bhadra. 

The MCA-Nepal requires a total 1,471 hectares of land for the electricity transmission project, and around 20 hectares for the construction of a substation at Ratmate in Nuwakot. It requires another 104 hectares of land for constructing around 856 electrical towers.

There is still a dispute regarding the acquisition of land required for constructing a substation. Likewise, the distribution of compensation for the land acquired for the transmission line has yet to begin. The MCA-Nepal has said except for a family-disputed plot, the distribution of compensation for the land acquired for a substation at Ratamate has been completed. A preliminary legal process has also been initiated to acquire the land required to build the electrical towers.

The legal process to determine compensation amounts for the land acquired for the project has started under the leadership of relevant chief district officers. The affected areas have 122 community and government forests. The government has allocated over Rs 10.8bn for the MCC projects in this fiscal year 2023/24. Out of the allocated budget, Rs 8.7bn will go for the electricity transmission project, Rs 1.5bn for road repair, Rs 2m for monitoring and evaluation, and Rs 555m for administrative work. 

RSS

Sunday’s Supreme Court order in response to a habeas corpus writ has given rise to hopes that high-profile politicians, allegedly involved in the process of transferring government land at Lalita Niwas in the name of private individuals, will be brought under investigation. 

The SC has directed the government to expand the investigation to include the top decision-makers, making way for bringing former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai under the ambit of the probe. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued arrest warrants against those charged with involvement in the scam as part of an ongoing probe that has already netted about two dozen people. Thus far, high-level politicians have been able to avoid the investigation using political clout. 

Two years ago, the SC had completed its final hearing on a writ petition seeking its order to also probe former prime ministers Nepal and Bhattarai in the Lalita Niwas scam. A division bench of the then Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana and Justice Nahakul Subedi was to issue its verdict on 1 Nov 2021. But that was not to be as legal professionals started their protest against the then Chief Justice Rana.

As the judges’ and lawyers’ protest intensified, 98 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), and CPN (Unified Socialist), among others, filed an impeachment motion in the Parliament against then CJ Rana on 13 Feb 2022, leading to his suspension. Rana completed his term in suspension even as the motion itself suffered an uncertain fate. 

“This case will be forever alive if the ex-PMs are not subjected to a probe. The court order should make way for investigations into other scams”  -Former DIG Hemanta Malla Thakuri

Senior Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane had filed a writ petition after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) refused to press charges against the two former prime ministers, arguing that cabinet decisions were beyond its jurisdiction. Neupane contended that it was unjust to give reprieve to the former prime ministers, while ministers from the same cabinet could be charged.

Former chief of CIAA Surya Nath Upadhaya says the former prime ministers will definitely be brought under probe as the court has already ordered it. “But it’s difficult to prove them guilty,” he adds. “It’s not the task of a prime minister to get involved in the land allocation process. Prime ministers don’t have time for these tasks.” I don’t think the former prime ministers are directly involved in the case, he says.

Former DIG of Nepal Police Hemanta Malla Thakuri says that as the court has already issued its verdict, it will be a bit easier for the police or the CIAA to investigate the case anew. “The investigating agency has back-up support now,” he says. “Without this kind of support, cases involving high-profile figures like former prime ministers are always an uphill battle.” 

Notably, Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar and Chandra Dev Joshi, ministers in the cabinets of Nepal and Bhattarai respectively, were brought under the scope of the probe, even as Prime Ministers Nepal and Bhattarai, as well as the Chief Secretary authenticating cabinet decisions, remained exempt.

Justices Sinha and Chudal on Sunday ordered that the investigation should encompass all individuals engaged in the decision-making process starting from the top of the pyramid. The order has cleared the way for investigating agencies to include the two former prime ministers in their probe.

The cabinet meeting held on 11 April 2010 under then PM Nepal had decided to hand over government land in the names of private individuals. When the Land Revenue Office, Dillibazar, refused to execute the decision, stating that the task fell under the jurisdiction of the Land Reforms Office (LRO, the same cabinet decided that land revenue offices could handle the responsibilities of the LRO. On 13 Aug 2010, the cabinet decided to add names of some landowners and tenants “that were missing from the previous list”.

“It’s not the task of a PM to get involved in the land allocation process, so it will be difficult to prove the two former PMs guilty in this case” -Former CIAA chief Surya Nath Upadhyaya

The cabinet meeting held on 4 Oct 2012 under Bhattarai not only agreed, in principle, to hand over the Lalita Niwas land, which was under the Samarjung Company—an entity under the Ministry of Home Affairs—to Pashupati Tikinya Guthi, but also created fake tenants.

“This case will be forever alive if the probing bodies don’t subject Nepal and Bhattarai to investigation. Remember, the court has already ordered that they be brought under probe,” says Thakuri. “This landmark verdict will also help the police and the CIAA to probe other cases involving high-profile figures,” he adds.