Kathmandu, December 6, 2006

Maoist chairman Prachanda and his deputy, Dr Baburam Bhattarai, today met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the latter’s residence at Baluwatar and asked the PM to remain committed to hold constituent assembly election in June, the deadline set by the sevenparty alliance and the CPN-Maoist on October 10.

Both the leaders are also learnt to have agreed that the United Nations monitoring team needs to accomplish its assigned job on time to hold constituent assembly election before the deadline. Bhattarai told The Himalayan Times that they conveyed to the PM that the entire peace process would be in “jeopardy” if the constituent assembly elections were not held in June.

He said his party had approved the draft of the interim constitution on Tuesday. “We have told the PM that nobody will abide by the peace treaty if the interim constitution was not promulgated soon,” he said, adding that the PM was ready to call a meeting of eight political parties tomorrow.

When asked about PM’s reaction, Bhattarai said, “He is positive. But the reactionary forces are hatching a conspiracy to defer the elections,” he said. He added that registration and verification process of the Maoist army combatants could be started even before the arrival of the UN team.

Promulgation of the interim constitution and verification process of the Maoist combatants must go simultaneously, he said.

Upper Seti project to inundate 811 ha

The proposed Upper Seti Storage Hydro-electricity Project, which aims to produce 132 megawatts of electricity for Tanahun district, will sweep away 811 hectares, which includes forests, wetlands and also a habitat for hundreds of conserved wild species.

Jack Prosser, a member of an environment team that conducted a study in the area, today said that out of the total area to be covered by the project, 121 hectares is either under cultivation or has houses, 127 hectares form a grazing area, forests occupy 428 hectares and 227 hectares form other barren land.

Prosser is a senior partner and environmentalists for the Environment Planning Associates and his study was part of the studies for the Japan International Cooperation Agency. “The forest accounts for 42 per cent or 381.7 hectares in the reservoir area out of the total area of 904.1 hectares.

The project area is a habitat for 27 mammals, 17 reptiles and amphibians, 62 birds and 46 butterflies and moths,” he said. He was addressing a stakeholders’ meeting in the capital.

He said his team had also recorded 209 wild species of plants, of which Screw Pine and four types of orchids are under the conservation category.

Prosser said that a supplementary Environment Impact Assessment is necessary to make a final decision on the project.