Sobita Gautam Sends 166-Bill Plan to Nepal Parliament

The government is preparing to take law-making into the next fiscal year under an annual timetable, sending Parliament a consolidated list of 166 bills proposed by different ministries for 2083/84.

The plan sets out not only what the government wants to legislate, but also the order in which those bills are expected to move. For a Parliament often faced with competing legislative demands, the calendar is intended to bring greater discipline to the process and make ministries answerable for the laws they say they need.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobita Gautam handed the annual legislative timetable and the full list of bills to Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal and National Assembly Chair Narayan Dahal in separate meetings on Wednesday.

Of the 166 proposed bills, 97 are intended to create new laws. The remaining 69 seek amendments to laws already in force.

Legislation divided into three priority groups

The government has placed 64 bills in the first-priority category. Another 45 have been listed under the second priority, while 57 fall in the third.

• First priority: 64 bills
• Second priority: 45 bills
• Third priority: 57 bills

The ranking is expected to guide the likely sequence of registration and discussion in the Federal Parliament. It also gives Parliament an early picture of the legislative pressure likely to build during the coming fiscal year.

The timetable was prepared under the Legislative Act, 2081, which seeks to organise government law-making within fixed deadlines.

Section 3 of the Act requires every ministry to identify the bills it will need in the next fiscal year and submit them to the Law Ministry, with priorities, by the end of Jestha. The Law Ministry must then hold discussions with the concerned ministries before deciding the order in which the bills will be presented and preparing the annual calendar.

To meet that legal obligation, the ministry held discussions with representatives of the concerned ministries on Asar 24 and 25. The final number was fixed at 166 after those consultations, according to the ministry.

Law Ministry proposes the largest number of bills

The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has proposed 17 bills, the highest number from any single ministry.

The Infrastructure Development Ministry and the Ministry of Health and Food Safety have each proposed 16 bills.

The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Finance Ministry have submitted 15 bills each. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment has proposed 13.

The Home Ministry has 11 bills on the list. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has also proposed 11.

Nine bills have come from the Ministry of Education and Sports. The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration has proposed eight.

The Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security has submitted seven bills, while the Ministry of Information and Communications has proposed six.

Five bills have been proposed by the Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment.

The ministries of Industry, Commerce and Supplies; Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation; Foreign Affairs; and Science, Technology and Innovation have each proposed four bills.

The Defence Ministry has proposed one bill.

Government seeks a more predictable law-making process

Before finalising the list and its priorities, Minister Gautam held phased discussions with ministers and secretaries from all ministries, including the Prime Minister’s Office.

She said policy reform was essential for good governance, easier public services and prosperity, and that the government had placed law-making among its highest priorities.

Gautam also expressed hope that Parliament would provide the cooperation needed to carry the government’s reform agenda forward.

The annual calendar is an effort to move legislation away from a purely reactive process. Ministries have now formally stated what laws they expect to need, while the priority list gives Parliament a basis for deciding which government bills should enter the legislative process first.

Still, inclusion in the calendar is not an absolute condition for introducing a bill.

Under Section 3(5) of the Legislative Act, the government may prepare and submit a bill on an issue not included in the annual timetable when an immediate legal need arises. In such cases, the purpose and reasons for bringing the bill must be clearly stated, the Law Ministry said.