Province 2 has moved the Supreme Court (SC) against the federal government on the issue of use of natural resources.
Attorney general of the province Dipendra Jha said the petition has been filed demanding an interim order against the Cabinet decision to convert Sagarmatha Forest Project with 13,132 hectares in Mahottari, Sarlahi and Rautahat districts to a corporation and operate it as per the Company Act.
The Cabinet on June 6 had decided to operate Sagarmatha and two other forest projects in Province 1 and 5 through the federal government. The provincial Cabinet had then decided to seek legal remedy against that decision.
"The Constitution has kept the national forests inside provinces under the remit of provincial governments. Forest is a huge resource for the provincial government. The federal government has tried to bring that under it violating the Constitution," Jha claimed. "The Forest Act, on the other hand, also prohibits converting forest projects into a company. The decision, therefore, is not in accordance to the law."
The petition will be heard by the SC on Friday.
