Lamjung, November 23:

Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Poudel today claimed that nobody could topple the government in the present political context.

Poudel, who arrived here to inspect the mid-Marsyangdi Hydro Electricity Project (MMHEP), told mediapersons, “The present coalition is here to stay, until at least the actualisation of a New Nepal, despite some parties’ keen interest in toppling it.”

He said it was the responsibility of all the parties to take the peace process to a logical conclusion and draft the new constitution. “Nobody shall have any doubt that the new constitution will be drafted by May 2010,” the minister said.

Stating that the MMHEP had not been a cost-effective project, he said, “Thanks to the faulty agreement made by earlier governments with the German government, the project period got extended, with the cost for the project almost doubling.”

Asked about the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority’s probe into the financial irregularities in the MMHEP, he said, “The matter does not fall within the scope of CIAA’s investigation.”

Executive Director of NEA Uttam Kumar Shrestha said the total expenditure for the project had reached Rs 20 billion, heightened also due to the euro continuously gaining against the rupee.