Cabinet Meeting Decisions Made on Various Key Issues

Kathmandu. The Council of Ministers meeting held on Thursday has made various important decisions. The government has made public seven main decisions, ranging from addressing the immediate problems of citizens to accepting foreign grant assistance.

The meeting has formed a negotiation team to address the demands of citizens affected by the undue lending (meter- ब्याज) which has been complex in the country for a long time. This team, chaired by Secretary Pushkar Sapkota of the Prime Minister's Office and Council of Ministers, includes joint secretaries from the Ministry of Finance, Home, Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, and Federal Affairs and General Administration. This team will find a solution by directly negotiating with the affected parties.

Similarly, in terms of financial management, the government has approved the Nepal Rastra Bank to issue new design coins of 1 Rupee and 2 Rupee denominations.

The Council of Ministers meeting has also decided to accept foreign grant assistance of 1.81 million US dollars (approximately 18 lakh 10 thousand US dollars) to be received from the Korean government for the establishment of the Nepal Law Information Pilot System.

In the context of physical infrastructure and environmental management, the Council of Ministers has made a new arrangement where if additional tree poles need to be removed within the areas for which permission has been obtained to remove tree poles in the national forest area within the protected area, the concerned ministry can grant permission after completing the prevailing legal process. This is believed to reduce the administrative hassle that previously had to be brought to the Council of Ministers.

In addition, the meeting has approved the Policy Research Institute Development Committee (Formation) First Amendment Order, 2083, and also approved the organizational structure and staffing of various ministries. To further streamline government services, the government has also decided to approve a new arrangement regarding the management of employees working on service contracts.