Kathmandu, August 2

Putting an end to one-and-a-half-month stalemate, the Federal Parliament today formed 14 thematic committees after the main opposition party submitted names of its lawmakers for the panels.

Of the 14 parliamentary committees, 10 are of the House of Representatives and four are of the National Assembly.

Since the NC had not forwarded the names of its lawmakers based on the proportional representation system, HoR Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara and NA Chairperson Ganesh Timilesena finalised the committees on the basis of informal consultation with NC leaders and their members using their legal rights.

The Nepali Congress should have sent a designated number of its lawmakers in each of the committees based on their presence in the Parliament, but it did not do so.

The thematic committees were endorsed with the majority in both the Houses. The ruling coalition of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal has the two-thirds majority in both the houses.

“We neither opposed nor supported the finalisation of the committees and their members,” NC’s NA leader Surendra Raj Pandey told THT.

The NC had sought the leadership of a few thematic committees, but NCP (NCP) did not entertain their request.

This means that all the committees will be led by the NCP (NCP) lawmakers, except the Public Accounts Committee, which has traditionally been led by the opposition.

Although the leaders of the committees have yet to be elected, the panels can, however, start functioning, as the senior-most lawmaker in the committee will chair meetings until the leaders are elected as per parliamentary practice.

According to National Assembly Secretary Rajendra Phuyal, the Parliament can forward bills to the committees concerned for clause-wise discussion, while the panels can direct government activities and policies.

The PAC has 27 members and it functions to make the government accountable. The 25-member Financial Committee checks and directs the government in financial affairs.

The International Relations Committee, which has 25 members, keeps tabs on the government’s foreign policies, while the Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumer Interest Committee has 24 members and looks after the related issues.

Other committees are: the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee (23 members), the Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee (25 members), the Women and Social Committee (24 members), the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee (26 members), the Development and Technology Committee (27 members) and the Education and Health Committee (24 members).

The NA committees are Legislation Management Committee (14 members), the Sustainable Development and Good Governance Committee (14 members), the Committee on Delegated Legislation and Government Assurances (13 members) and the National Concern and Coordination Committee (14 members).

Of the two joint committees, only one — the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (15 members) — has so far been formed, while the Constitution Implementation and Monitoring Committee (15 members) has yet to be formed.