OPMCM starts follow up on implementation of PM’s directives

KATHMANDU: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has started following up on the status of implementation of the directives Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal issued to the government ministers and secretaries during the ministry-wise review in the beginning of his second term in office.

The Prime Minister Office (PMO) has written to the ministries concerned, seeking reports on the progress of implementation of directives the PM issued to various ministries for work and policy related reforms.

The PMO had, on January 24, sent letters to the ministries asking them to submit the progress report on the implementation of the PM’s directives, said Joint Secretary at the PMO, Khom Raj Koirala.

According to him, some ministries have not yet submitted their progress report and have been urged to do so at the earliest.

In the course of the ministry-wise review, the Prime Minister had issued a 10-point directive to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and seven-point directives each to the Ministry of Water Supply and the Ministry of Forests and Environment.

Similarly, the PM gave an eight-point directive to the Urban Development Ministry, asking it to submit the modality and plan for executing the concept of ‘One Model Integrated Settlement, One Local Level’ targeted to the impoverished, underprivileged and marginalized communities, and the plan of transforming the traditional bus parks in all cities of the country into smart bus parks, among others.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport was issued a 13-point directive and urged to submit to the PMO the realistic details of works related to extending the reach of roadways to all the rural settlements, except those where this was not feasible due to geographical difficulties, and to reducing the production cost of goods and services produced by the farmers in the remote areas and to ensure their accessibility to the market. The Ministry was also urged to develop a special plan on issuing driving licenses and putting to an end once and for all the situation of development projects not completed within the deadline and remaining in limbo.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security was given 17-point directives and asked to present a plan for maintaining a balance between demand and supply by preparing integrated details of employers and workers and to develop a mechanism for the same in all the 753 local levels. It was also urged to make arrangements for providing medical treatment to the Nepali migrant workers in foreign countries who are injured or incapacitated during their work.

Similarly, the PM had issued an eight-point directive to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.  Among the directives include running the ‘Let Us Send One Nepali and One Foreign Friend to Nepal Campaign’ under the leadership of NRNA and appointing an internationally renowned person as the tourism promoter of Nepal.

Meanwhile, Secretary at the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation, Suresh Acharya said that they have prepared the report as per the PM’s directives and forwarded the same to the PMO. According to him, he PMO had issued to the Ministry an eight-point directive, including on the situation of demand and supply of drinking water in the Kathmandu Valley and on removing the problems seen in water supply and sewerage in 23 different big cities of the country, among others.

The PMO had asked the Ministry of Forests and Environment to carry out a study and prepare a report on the latest status of community forests for ensuring accessibility of every marginalized, indigent community to the benefits available from the forest resources. Ministry Secretary Dr Deepak Kumar Kharal said the directives received from the PMO are under implementation and the information about this would be provided to it soon.

Spokesperson for the OPMCM Narayan Prasad Bhatta said that they are regularly prodding the ministries regarding the status of implementation of the PM’s directives and the detailed reports have also been received from several ministries in this connection.

The ministries have been urged to regularly submit the progress report on the PM’s directives to the Infrastructure Development Division at the OPMCM on a fortnightly basis, Bhatta said.