The House of Representatives has passed five ordinances issued by the government, excluding the land-related ordinance, by a majority.
The approved ordinances include the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Promotion of Good Governance and Public Service Delivery, the Economic Procedure and Financial Accountability (First Amendment) Ordinance, the Privatization (First Amendment) Ordinance, the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Improving the Economic and Business Environment and Increasing Investment, and the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Cooperatives.
The government will now have to table replacement bills of the approved ordinances in Parliament. These bills must be passed by Parliament within two months. The deadline starts from the day the government convened the Parliament session, i.e. January 31. This means the ordinances must be passed by March 31.
In the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday, the CPN-UML, Nepali Congress, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), JSP-Nepal, and Loktantrik Samajwadi Party supported the ordinances. The CPN (Maoist Center), Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Nepal Workers Peasants Party opposed them.
It has yet to be decided whether the government will table the land-related ordinance in the House of Representatives or withdraw it.
JSP-Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav briefed a parliamentary party meeting held on Wednesday that the government will take a decision on the land-related ordinance only with the consent of his party.
It would be risky for the government to table a proposal for approval of the ordinances in the National Assembly without the support of the JSP-Nepal. The Upendra Yadav-led party has been opposing the land-related ordinance. The JSP-Nepal parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday decided to support five ordinances except the land-related one.
According to the Constitution, ordinances issued by the government must be approved by both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.
