'MoE shirked responsibility on hydro licence case'
KATHMANDU:
Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources today instructed the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to take initiatives to discourage ministries from forwarding every issue that appears controversial to the Cabinet.
The instruction was issued after the Ministry of Energy (MoE) first cancelled survey or generation licences of 13 hydropower developers and then tabled a proposal at the Cabinet to extend the tenure of those licences.
“The practice of shirking responsibility is becoming a permanent fixture in the bureaucracy. This will not only affect the hydropower sector but set a bad precedent in the governance,” says the directive issued today by
the committee.Last year, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had instructed the MoE to cancel survey or generation licences of 14 hydropower projects, namely, 400MW Lower Arun, 3.4MW Midim, 14.3MW Upper Mailung, 18MW Upper Solu, 6.8MW Upper Khorunga, 4.53MW Balefi B, 9.7MW Upper Inwa, 37.6MW Kabeli A, 20MW Lower Balefi, 6MW Karuwa, 46MW Bhotekoshi V, 6MW Buku Khola, 4.5MW Lower Indrawati, and 17.5 MW Chhaharekhola.
Following this, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources instructed the MoE to launch an independent investigation on the matter and take a decision.The MoE then cancelled survey or generation licences extended to all developers, except Kabeli A.But right after these licences were annulled, the MoE tabled proposal at the Cabinet seeking extension of tenure of the cancelled licences.
It is said MoE had first cancelled licences to avoid being questioned by CIAA. It then took the matter to Cabinet as CIAA cannot question decisions made by the Council of Ministers.This indicated the MoE was more inclined towards shirking responsibility rather than taking a decision based on law of the land.
Source: THT
The instruction was issued after the Ministry of Energy (MoE) first cancelled survey or generation licences of 13 hydropower developers and then tabled a proposal at the Cabinet to extend the tenure of those licences.
“The practice of shirking responsibility is becoming a permanent fixture in the bureaucracy. This will not only affect the hydropower sector but set a bad precedent in the governance,” says the directive issued today by
the committee.Last year, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had instructed the MoE to cancel survey or generation licences of 14 hydropower projects, namely, 400MW Lower Arun, 3.4MW Midim, 14.3MW Upper Mailung, 18MW Upper Solu, 6.8MW Upper Khorunga, 4.53MW Balefi B, 9.7MW Upper Inwa, 37.6MW Kabeli A, 20MW Lower Balefi, 6MW Karuwa, 46MW Bhotekoshi V, 6MW Buku Khola, 4.5MW Lower Indrawati, and 17.5 MW Chhaharekhola.
Following this, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources instructed the MoE to launch an independent investigation on the matter and take a decision.The MoE then cancelled survey or generation licences extended to all developers, except Kabeli A.But right after these licences were annulled, the MoE tabled proposal at the Cabinet seeking extension of tenure of the cancelled licences.
It is said MoE had first cancelled licences to avoid being questioned by CIAA. It then took the matter to Cabinet as CIAA cannot question decisions made by the Council of Ministers.This indicated the MoE was more inclined towards shirking responsibility rather than taking a decision based on law of the land. - See more at: http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=%27MoE+shirked+responsibility+on+hydro+licence+case%27&NewsID=445771#sthash.8yzm5u94.dpuf
