Government forms high-level body to study aviation safety

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 21: The government has formed a high-level study and recommendation committee to examine the development of a safe, reliable, and trustworthy civil aviation system in Nepal.

The government has set up a five-member study committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Anil Kumar Sinha.

The Cabinet meeting held on Friday, based on a proposal from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, decided to form the high level committee and approve its members. 

Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung announced the decisions of the Cabinet meeting that was held on Friday by organising a press conference on Sunday. 

The committee includes aviation management expert Rajendra Bahadur Singh, aviation security expert Bheshraj Subedi, and aviation service operation and quality management expert Captain Riwaj Prasad Pradhan as expert members. Additionally, an Under-Secretary from the Tourism Ministry will serve as the member secretary of the Committee.

The Committee is expected to study and recommend measures and actions that the government needs to undertake to make Nepal’s civil aviation sector safe, reliable, and trustworthy.

Repeated air accidents and the European Union’s blacklist pose significant challenges for the government in improving Nepal’s airspace.

Similarly, the Cabinet meeting has decided to form a negotiation team led by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to discuss the acceptance of a loan assistance of approximately 135 million US dollars proposed by the World Bank for green recovery and inclusive development.

Minister Gurung said that the government had decided to accept a concessional loan assistance of 150 million US dollars (equivalent to approximately Rs. 20.12 billion) available through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) under the World Bank for climate adaptation projects.

Minister Gurung said that the meeting has granted customs duty exemption on goods received as aid for relief and reconstruction purposes to address disaster-related incidents.

The government has reappointed public vehicle transportation management expert Ashish Gajurel as the Executive Director of the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee.

Further, the Cabinet meeting approved the visit of Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Dipak Khadka, to New Delhi, India to take part in the 7th International Solar Alliance meeting to be held from November 3 to 10, 2024.

Meanwhile, the government has also decided to reconstitute the recommendation committee formed as per the decision of the Cabinet meeting on April 12, 2024, to recommend the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the Commission for Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The recommendation committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Om Prakash Mishra. Other members to the recommendation committee include the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission or a member designated by him. Members from among human rights activists, psychologists, legal experts, sociologists, women’s rights activists, or individuals involved in peace processes include former Attorney General Khamma Bahadur Khati, Dr. Arjun Kumar Karki, and Stella Tamang as members.  

The government has granted prior approval for the organisation and management survey of quarantine offices under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

Further, the Cabinet meeting has decided to release immediate financial assistance ranging from Rs. 10 million, Rs. 7.5 million and Rs. 5 million to the severely affected local levels among the 71 local units in 20 districts recently declared as disaster-affected areas by the government.

The Cabinet meeting has also endorsed the establishment and operation of an immigration office at the Korala border point in Mustang district.

The government has approved to maintain interoperability between the National Council Management Information System and the Citizen App.

The government has approved the visit of Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Devendra Dahal, to participate in a programme on infrastructure and transportation issues in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 3 to 5, 2024.

The government has also decided to gift a pair of elephants from Chitwan National Park to the government of Qatar as a token of love and transfer of the management responsibility of the Central Zoo to the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC).

Further, the Cabinet meeting decided to make arrangements for free treatment, excluding cosmetic procedures, for citizens unable to bear the treatment costs through various health institutions including BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Narayani Hospital, Kirtipur Hospital, Pokhara Institute of Health Sciences, and other provincial hospitals.