December 27: The government’s decision to dissolve the parliament has affected the process of endorsing dozens of development and investment-related laws.

According to the parliament secretariat, altogether 50 bills related to social and financial issues are awaiting parliamentary approval for endorsement. Among them, more than three dozen bills are gathering dust at the House of Representatives.

Bills related to fast track construction of national priority projects, Export and Smuggling Regulation Bill, Public Procurement Bill, Competition and Market Protection Bill, Drinking Water and Sanitation Bill, Customs Bill, Loan and Guarantee Bill, among others have been registered in the lower house of parliament. The process of endorsing these bills has been halted due to the dissolution of parliament.

The Public Transportation Bill has been sent to the House of Representatives by the National Assembly with recommendations. Insurance Bill, Information Technology Bill, Public Loan Management Bill are currently under discussion in the upper house.

Spokesperson at the Parliament Secretariat Roj Nath Pandey says these bills could not be moved forward as the parliament has been dissolved. These bills will be moved forward from the starting point when a new government is formed with fresh mandate after the election.

Railway Bill, Immigration Bill,  two bills related to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Statistics Bill, Corruption Control Bill, third amendment to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Bill, Social Security Bill (first amendment) are all languishing at the upper house.

Officials at the Parliament Secretariat say there is possibility of deliberations on the bills submitted to the upper house as the cabinet meeting last week recommended the president to summon the meeting of the National Assembly. However, the laws cannot be enacted until the lower house meeting takes place.

Economist Keshav Acharya says it is unfortunate that the law making process has been disrupted due to the dissolution of the House of Representatives. He says that it was not appropriate for the prime minister to dissolve the parliament due to internal dispute of the ruling party.

Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr Jagdish Chandra Pokharel also expressed concerns regarding the disruption in lawmaking process due to the dissolution of the lower house.

“The current government was formed with the vision of achieving long-term goals. It is unfortunate that the government dissolved the House of Representatives instead of pursuing its goals,” said Pokharel.

Former Finance Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi says that the delay in forming laws will also affect investment in the country. He says that the targets set by the government will not be achieved in lack of laws while the domestic and foreign investors will also think twice before investing in Nepal due to lack of investment-friendly laws.