September 19: The government has formed a recommendation committee on public enterprises with the objective of improving the performance of such enterprises. A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on September 16 took a decision to this effect.    

Sharing the cabinet decisions on Sunday, Minister for Information and Communication Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki confirmed that a decision has been taken to form a recommendation committee on public enterprises.    

According to a report prepared by Nepal Rastra Bank, excessive political interference, lack of adequate autonomy and accountability, absence of professionalism, rampant financial indiscipline and conflicting goals have been the main reasons responsible for the dismal performance of public enterprises in Nepal.

However, the central bank believes that their performance can be improved by allowing greater autonomy and more accountability by introducing reward and punishment system linked with performance.

Similarly, the government has appointed Joint Secretary Kali Prasad Parajuli of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development as the chairman of Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Board.

Minister Karki further said that the cabinet meeting has also decided to recall a bill formed to amend and integrate laws relating to electricity from the parliament.    

Minister Karki told journalists that the cabinet has reverted its decision to acquire 126.46 bighas of land for Biratnager Airport. Two years ago, the then Council of Ministers had given approval to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to acquire the land for the expansion of Biratnagar Airport.