KATHMANDU, AUGUST 06
The taskforce of the ruling coalition has finalised the common minimum programme and submitted it to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other leaders of the coalition, including CPN-Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal Co-chair Upendra Yadav, and Rastriya Janamorcha leader Chitra Bahadur KC.
The CMP lists the coalition government's priorities, policies, and programmes, including the code of conduct for the government pledging to vaccinate all Nepalis by mid-April. The CMP also pledges to vaccinate onethird of the country's population by mid-October.
The coalition government's document states that the government will move the process of amending the constitution on the basis of consensus between the political parties.
The CMP adds that the government will bring relief packages for the poor, workers, and industries hit hard by the COV- ID-19 pandemic and also for those who were affected by floods and landslides.
It states that the government will resolve border issues through diplomatic channels.
The document adds that the government will implement interrelation between, and jurisdiction of, all tiers of the government as per the constitution and enact laws related to concurrent powers of the governments.
The CMP states that the government will try to bring local levels under the provinces.
It pledges to complete the remaining tasks of the comprehensive peace agreements signed with the CPN-MC and also the agreements signed with Madhesis and other marginalised groups.
It says that people falsely indicted during the Tarai Madhes agitation will be released from jail and the Lal Commission report shall be made public.
It pledges to prevent degradation of the Chure range to prevent desertification of the Tarai region. The document states that extraction and sale of riverine materials from the Chure range will be prohibited.
It pledges to pass urgent bills, including federal civil service bill and citizenship bill, as soon as possible. It pledges to provide compensation to people injured during the past agitations and provide government employment to one member of each victims' family.
The document stated that the government will make appointments to public bodies in a transparent manner.
With the finalisation of the common minimum programme, Prime Minister Deuba is expected to expand his Cabinet that has only five members -- three from the Nepali Congress and two from the CPN- MC. The JSP-N has not sent any of its representatives to the coalition government yet.
The ruling coalition's taskforce also prepared a 14-point code of conduct for government ministers and 10-point working procedure for operation of the government.
The working procedure for operation of the government proposes to form a high-level political coordination committee at the centre and similar structures could be extended to provinces and districts as well.
These committees will assist the government to implement the CMP apart from promoting collaboration among coalition partners on national issues.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 7 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
