South Asian News Network

Kathmandu, Sept 30: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has urged lawmakers to contribute to the country’s development by leveraging their specific expertise. During a discussion held today at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singhadurbar with lawmakers from engineering background, Prime Minister Shah urged them to focus on long-term policies and innovative ideas rather than on political matters. “You are experts in technical fields and occupy positions where national policies are formulated; please make the best use of your knowledge, skills, and experience for the country’s development.” He also advised the lawmakers to prioritize their technical proficiency and professional identity alongside party politics. While acknowledging that active participation in party politics is natural during elections or political campaigns, he urged them to focus on technical aspects related to national development during their spare time. Describing the lawmakers present at the discussion as “extraordinary” individuals, he expressed the view that if “extraordinary” individuals consistently discuss and work on new ideas, the country can be transformed within five years. Speaking at the meeting, Minister for Infrastructure Development, Sunil Lamsal, stated that legal amendments are underway to foster an environment conducive to the private sector and business in the country. “The Prime Minister’s vision is to create an environment that supports the private sector and business,” Minister Lamsal said. “We have recently put this into practice in the waste management sector as it has the potential to evolve into an industry.” According to Minister Lamsal, the government is working on plans to eliminate customs duties on the vehicles used to transport industrial raw materials and to facilitate the establishment of industries as close as possible to the sources of raw materials. During the discussion, MP Sagar Dhakal emphasized the need for round-the-clock work—across three shifts—on infrastructure projects, including road construction. He also highlighted the significant potential of coffee farming in Nepal and stressed the need to amend laws to boost coffee production and subsequent exports. MP Ashish Gajurel suggested transitioning public transportation to a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. He also advocated for moving towards a “zero-traffic” system based on the “smart transportation” concept and emphasized the importance of encouraging private investment in this sector. MP Shriram Neupane expressed the view that capital expenditure could only be increased if arrangements were made to conduct development and construction work around the clock while MP Dharmaraj KC called for the enactment of legislation addressing climate change. Meanwhile, Dr Ram Lama stated that increasing the salaries and benefits of engineers could help prevent the exodus of skilled human resource to foreign countries while MP Tapeshwar Yadav commended the government’s preparations to establish an engineering college in the Tarai region. Lawmakers Jagadish Kharel, Ujwal Kumar Jha, Arvind Shah, Dharmaraj KC, and Sushil Khadka also expressed their views on contemporary issues.