Kathmandu: The House of Representatives (HoR) under the Federal Parliament continues deliberations on proposed annual policies and programmes in today’s meeting. Parliamentarians are airing their views on party basis on the policies and programmes recently presented by President Ramchandra Paudel for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Nepali Congress lawmaker Dilendra Prasad Badu highlighted the omission of the Mahakali Corridor from the national pride plan, advocating for its inclusion due to its strategic connections to India and China. Badu also urged a review of progress on last year’s programmes and suggested involving the private sector in transmission line construction to reduce distances.
Narayan Prakash Saud, also from the Nepali Congress, stressed the importance of ensuring budget sources before allocations. He called for policies fostering self-reliance and suggested separate policies for Non-Resident Nepalis, concerning dual citizenships, residence, and property ownership.
CPN (UML)’s Ishwor Bahadur Rijal emphasized the need for prioritizing science and technology, while CPN (Maoist Centre)’s Mahindra Raya Yadav advocated for adopting a Public-Private Partnership model for economic development and called for streamlining stalled national pride projects.
Highlighting the ongoing drinking water crisis, Yadav demanded clean water access for all Nepalis and suggested a minimum of 10 percent budget allocation to agriculture, the cornerstone of Nepal’s economy.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)’s Birajbhakta Shrestha critiqued the lack of innovation and change in the proposed policies, stating they failed to address issues like the economy, environment, and cultural promotion adequately. He criticized the policies as maintaining the status quo and lacking alignment with youth aspirations and modern technological demands.
Beena Lama, the Whip for Rastriya Prajatantra Party, emphasized the importance of effective implementation of the proposed policies, advocating for transparency and inclusiveness in governance. She urged the government to prioritize sustainable development, economic reform, social security, corruption control, and peace and order maintenance.
Lama also suggested enhancing programmes like post-disaster relief operations, integrated agricultural plans, seed testing, and determining minimum purchase prices.
CPN (Unified Socialist)’s Krishna Kumar Shrestha expressed concern over the neglect of Madheshi people in the policies. He recommended prioritizing Madhesh-centric national pride projects, such as the proposed Nijgadh International Airport in Bara, in the forthcoming budget.
Birendra Prasad Mahato of Janata Samajwadi Party proposed forming a separate budget formulation committee to focus on infrastructure development, offering government suggestions, controlling current expenditure, increasing the development budget, expanding revenue scope, and formulating joint policies.