• The panels can direct issues related to policies and programmes to the government and follow up on those directions

Kathmandu, September 23 Chairpersons of the 16 parliamentary panels have been elected with the election of the remaining two chairs today, almost 10 months after the parliamentary polls. The panels are expected to help the Parliament carry out its business in a more effective manner. Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Neera Devi Jairu was elected chair of the Directive Principles and Responsibilities of the State of the Constitution Implementation and Monitoring Committee, while Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal lawmaker Laxman Lal Karna was elected chair of the 15-member Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Both the chairpersons were administered the oath of office and secrecy today. The parliamentary committees can direct issues related to policies and programmes to the government and follow up on those directions. The Jairu-led 14-member committee will look into the directive principles and policies of the state. According to Nepali Congress lawmaker Radheshyam Adhikari, the committee can facilitate implementation of the constitution. “The parliamentary panels will aid the work of the Parliament as they will make the government’s bodies accountable and responsible. I hope the Parliament can move its business more effectively from now on,” said former speaker and Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Deputy Parliamentary Party leader Subas Chandra Nembang. “The panels have become active. They can call and quiz ministers and other government officials who are under their parliamentary oversight,” he added. A Parliament Secretariat official said these panels could activate all 308 articles of the constitution. “They can direct the government to frame necessary laws, including those relating to inclusion and women’s representation in organs of the state and issues related to use of multiple languages in the state organs of the government,” said the official. “These panels can work as real watchdogs of the government,” he added. According to him, the panels can control and monitor the government’s wrong moves. Of the 14 parliamentary thematic committees, 10 are of the House of Representatives, four of the National Assembly and two are joints committees. Eight female lawmakers, including six from the ruling Nepal Communist Party and two from the main opposition Nepali Congress, were elected chairpersons of the panels earlier. Six of the10 thematic committees of the House of Representatives are led by women lawmakers.  This is the first time in Nepal’s parliamentary history that HoR committees are led by 60 per cent women. Likewise, of the four National Assembly committees two are led by make and two by female lawmakers.