KATHMANDU: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives on Thursday requested the government to provide the report on power tariffs for 'dedicated feeders and trunk lines' prepared by the probe commission led by former Supreme Court Justice Girish Chandra Lal.

PAC Chairperson Rishikesh Pokharel stated that the committee has written to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, asking it to share the report for study purposes.

Earlier on Thursday, the committee held discussions with business leaders and entrepreneurs regarding the power tariff dispute following the Lal Commission's report.

During the meeting, lawmakers Rajendra Lingden, Arjun Narsingh KC, and Rajan Dahal emphasized that the Lal Commission's recommendations should be implemented.

Lawmaker Dr Amresh Kumar Singh noted that entrepreneurs should not deviate from the core issue, as industries were supplied power during the load-shedding period by disconnecting the power supply distributed for household purposes.

Similarly, lawmaker Hari Dhakal suggested that businesspeople should operate their businesses legally instead of seeking informal deals.

However, industrialist Pashupati Murarka said the industrialists would pay the tariffs but should be provided with the Time-of-Day (TOD) meter, a type of electricity meter that records the amount of electrical energy consumed during different periods of the day giving an accurate detail of electricity consumption.

Meanwhile, the International Relations and Tourism Committee of the Parliament has directed the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation to submit the report of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) within a week.

A meeting of the committee held in Singha Durbar on Thursday made this decision.

Committee Chairperson Raj Kishor Yadav urged the minister to submit the ICAO report within a week, noting that the report had not been received in the past despite several requests.

Additionally, the committee has directed the Tourism Ministry to inform the committee about the bill designed to separate the licensing and regulatory functions of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Most of the committee members voiced support for advancing the bill to separate CAAN's jurisdiction in the interest of aviation safety. -- RSS