Far west province enacts no new laws in a year, Only nine amendments passed

Dhangadhi: The Far West Province has not introduced any new laws in the past year, with the provincial assembly passing only nine amendment bills in 2081 BS.

According to CPN (UML) provincial assembly member Dharmaraj Pathak, the lawmaking pace in the past year has been unsatisfactory. “Not a single new law has been made by the provincial assembly in a year. Only amendment laws have been made. The work has not been done at the pace that should have been done,” he said.

A key bill currently under consideration is related to the formation, operation, and conditions of service for the Far West Province local level service. While discussions continue, Pathak expressed that it would have been preferable if the bill had been passed within 2081 BS. He urged the provincial government to bring more legislative business to the assembly and accelerate the pace of lawmaking.

According to the Provincial Assembly Secretariat, aside from the budget, all bills passed in 2081 were amendments. These included amendments to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2075; Sudurpaschim Pragya-Pratishthan Act, 2076; and the Sudurpaschim Provincial Civil Service Act, 2079. Bills regarding the collection of seasonal revenue, implementation of financial proposals, and the appropriation bill for the fiscal year 2081/82 were also passed. Additionally, the Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly Regulations-2080 were approved in 2081.

Naresh Kumar Shahi, chief whip of the opposition CPN (Unified Socialist), acknowledged the importance of the amendments, noting that the revision of the Provincial Civil Service Act opened the way for employee recruitment by the Provincial Public Service Commission. He also highlighted the significance of the bill on the local level service currently under discussion.

However, Shahi emphasized the lack of progress in other critical areas. “The parliament was not busy. There was no work on the issues of private partnership, development, and employment,” he stated. “Now we need to pay attention to this too.”