February 5: Both the Houses of the Federal Parliament will now run according to the calendar prepared by the Parliament Secretariat. Although this practice is implemented in many countries of the world, it is a new concept in Nepal. Until now, the parliament used to run mainly on the basis of the understanding between political parties and the government but from now on, the business of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly will be conducted strictly on the basis of the calendar.

The Parliament Secretariat has already prepared the calendar. The calendar includes the dates on which days the House will run and what kind of bills will be presented on those particular dates.

According to Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Indira Rana, this exercise will play an important role in making the work of the parliament effective. She said that the Houses of many countries of the world, including America and European countries, run according to the calendar. Nepal also adopted this system as it was deemed necessary in Nepal.

Due to the lack of a calendar, important bills such as the bill on money laundering, the bill to amend the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2071 (TRC) and the Commission for the Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons have been stalled. Following the calendar is expected to overcome this situation.

"The date of submission of important bills to the Parliament has already been fixed. As soon as such bills come to the House according to the schedule, it is expected that the lawmaking process will speed up," Deputy Speaker Rana said in a conversation with New Business Age.

She said that the government will be more responsible for drafting the laws as the government will have to present the bills in parliament. According to Deputy Speaker Rana, long-term planning is also being discussed in the calendar. At p resent, a two-month calendar has been prepared for conducting the meetings of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

The Parliament Secretariat has called a meeting on Monday to inform the parliamentarians about the calendar.

According to the proposed calendar prepared by the Parliament Secretariat, the parliament meeting will be conducted only for three days a week. In the remaining three days, MPs can go to the parliamentary committees or constituencies to work.

According to the schedule prepared by the Parliament Secretariat, there will always be zero hour on the day when the Parliament is in session. During the zero hour, parliamentarians get one minute to speak in alphabetical order. But there will not be a special hour in every meeting. At special hours, parties get time based on their party status. Such a special hour will be held only during one meeting. The House of Representatives has now prepared a possible work schedule up to February 27. Since the government has to call the budget session soon, the winter session that started on February 5 will not be prolonged and the calendar has been prepared only until February 27.

According to the probable calendar of the House of Representatives, the meeting will be held only for 3 days on February 5, 7 and 8. The meeting of parliament will be held from 11 am. If the parliament runs according to the schedule, the parliamentarians will be able to directly question the prime minister on February 8.

On February 5, the Finance Ministry will introduce the Fiscal Procedures and Financial Accountability (First Amendment) Ordinance 2080, followed by the clause-wise discussion and passage of the bill to amend certain laws related to prevention of money laundering and promotion of business environment, 2079 on February 7. On February 8, there will be a general discussion on banking offense and punishment bill (Second Amendment) and approval of the Fiscal Procedure and Financial Accountability (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2080.

According to the Parliament Secretariat, matters such as resolution proposals to be registered by parliamentarians, motions of public importance will be discussed on Friday.