Enactment of IEA, SEZ law not possible: Minister Jha

The government on Thursday made clear that the enactment of new laws related with the private sector such as Industrial Enterprises Act (IEA) and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act was not possible anytime soon, as its priority for now was to put in place laws that would enable it to hold elections and end the long-running political deadlock.
"In the absence of parliament, we can enact laws only through ordinance. And the government´s priority at this juncture is definitely not the bills related to the private sector," said Industry Minister Anil Kumar Jha.
To a delegation of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) that met with him and requested for the enactment of long-pending bills related with the industrial sector, Jha said enactment of laws such as IEA and SEZ Act was not feasible at this juncture.
Newly elected CNI President Narendra Kumar Basnyat and his team members had reached Ministry of Industry (MoI) on the day to pay a courtesy call to Minister Jha, and in the course, urged the government to endorse at least laws such as IEA and SEZ to boost investment confidence and improve industrial environment.
"The industrial sector is reeling under problems such as acute power shortage and labor disputes," Basnyat said. "Additionally, we also don´t have policies that guard our investment and get some relief package from the government," he stated while requesting the Minister to take some initiatives to normalize the situation.
The CNI delegation had also expressed its disappointment with the minister over the government´s apathy to industries´ concerns such as poor industrial climate, rigid labor law and power crisis.
"We know that lack of parliament and the long-running political deadlock are major concerns, but we still request the government to put in place basic requisites for economic development," said Hari Bhakta Sharma, vice president of CNI.
Addressing the delegation, Minister Jha said that the government was seriously working to provide necessary support to the industrial sector. "Your demands such as subsidy on diesel consumed by industries and enactment of new acts are genuine. But the truth is we are not in a position to fulfill them," Jha said.
During the meeting, businessmen also asked for a separate power grid for the industrial clusters. "We also need subsidy on diesel so that we could optimally utilize our capacity and improve productions."
Businessmen, expressing their worries over labor problems, also asked Minister Jha to take some measures to control unethical behavior of the trade unionists in the manufacturing sector. "We are being intimidated by unreasonable activities of the trade unions affiliated to different political parties, including Madhesi parties," Basnyat said. "The entire production system has been disturbed due to labor unrest."
However, Minister Jha remained mum on the issue.

Fund crunch hits feasibility study of SEZs

The feasibility study for special economic zones (SEZs) in Dhanusha, Rautahat and Siraha is unlikely to happen this year even though the government has already finalized contractors for the study.
However, the industry ministry had failed to sign an agreement with contractors before the end of fiscal year 2011/12. As a result, the budget allocated for the project has frozen.
The government has not allocated budget for the project in the partial budget for the first four months of fiscal year 2012/13, according to an official at the industry ministry.
“The feasibility study for SEZs in those three districts is unlikely to happen,” Ministry for Industry Anil Kumar Jha said, confirming that there has been no budgetary allocation for the project in the partial budget.
The official said failure to ink deal with the contractors on time has affected the entire project.
Meanwhile, construction of SEZ in Bhairawa and Simara is going on in full swing. However, construction of SEZ in Bharatpur, Jumla and Kapilbastu is unlikely to begin anytime soon. Firms appointed by the ministry are currently conducting feasibility study of SEZ in these three places.
“Only Rs 10 million have been allocated for the SEZ project in the partial budget. The amount will be spent for SEZs in Simara and Bhairahawa,” the official said.
Though the ministry has already completed feasibility study for SEZ in Panchkhal and Kavre, construction works are unlikely to begin anytime soon owing to fund crunch.
The Ministry of Industry has decided to approach the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and National Planning Commission (NPC) for the allocation of funds for the feasibility of SEZs in Dhanusha, Rautahat and Siraha, according to the official.
However, Minister Jha maintained silence over the plan to seek funds for the feasibility study