.JPG)
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) to work effectively for the development of energy sector, which he termed as 'vital' for the country's economic development.
The prime minister directed the Ministry to scrap the licence of nonperforming companies that have held the hydropower projects' license for long.
During a review meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Thursday afternoon, the PM said that the narrative of 'river in bag' is in vogue for a long time. "Taking licence and holding them for long without developing projects is harmful to the country. We do not need to be flexible here. We should scrap the licence of such projects by developing certain criteria," PM Dahal directed.
The prime minister was speaking at the review meeting of the Energy Ministry and Communications Ministry.
Likewise, PM Dahal said that the tax system should be systematised by cutting the power supply of those failing to pay the power tariffs and added that there should be no compromise against those.
PM Dahal asked to get the power tariffs by starting from the large power consumers.
Similarly, Dahal also directed the officials to work for the lasting management of the irrigation facilities by linking the river system. "Irrigation system is deeply linked to agriculture. Let's do homework for increasing productivity of agriculture," he cautioned.
The head of the government also asked the officials to mend their working style reminding the officials that the current government is entering its second year. "I am mending my working style," he said.
At the review meeting, Dahal directed the MoCIT to think about safeguarding the country's media industry and simplify the advertisement policy.
Minister for Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation, Shakti Basnet, admitted the plight that Nepal has to import electricity in winter though it exports power during the summer season. He also shared problems relating to power consumption and export, seeking cooperation for it.
Similarly, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that homework was on to foster the quality and credibility of State-run media. The technology-friendly workforce is imperative, she said, adding that Ncell had furnished information on share sales on Wednesday and study on it is underway.
Chief Secretary Baikuntha Aryal directed the officials at MoEWRI to work seriously to implement the agreement on the export of 10,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
However, Energy Secretary Gopal Prasad Sigdel shared the problems that land acquisition process is full of hassles and even the public procurement system takes time, thereby affecting project decisions.
MoCIT Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut said the ministry had given top priority to the formulation of policies relating to communications.
