Nepal: PM Oli asks authority to restore electricity of 34 ‘defaulters’ businesses, faces criticism

In the ongoing tussle between the defaulting business houses and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Prime Minister K P Oli has firmly stood with the former, and got his cabinet to ask the authority to restore the lines within 24 hours.

The cabinet’s decision in this regard was conveyed to the NEA today. The authority has been asked to restore the lines of 34 industries by midnight. PM Oli took the measure as the NEA Executive Director, Kulman Ghising, had earlier refused to restore the lines on mere verbal order insisting that he would require the instructions of the ‘competent authority’ in the writing. According to the authority, 34 industries which had used round the clock power for over three years–1972 Feb to 1975 April– when the country was going through load-shedding up to 18 hours a day had defaulted, incurring the NEA about 28 billion rupees.

Meanwhile, members of the ruling party as well as the Opposition have opposed the move calling it a corrupt practice.

Under the policy, which the government has followed over the past two decades, any decision taken by the cabinet automatically becomes ‘policy decision’ and enjoys total immunity from scrutiny by the anti-graft constitutional bodies.