Table of Contents
A new beginning with Nepal
Pragmatism has finally taken root in Delhi and Kathmandu
Project implementation will be the test
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli maintained the tradition
during his state visit to India
He knows which controversies are best avoided.
His earlier nine-month tenure as PM in 2015-16 had seen relations with India hit a
new low, and it made eminent sense to begin his second term on a positive note
This seven-year exercise finally produced a new constitution in 2015.
Nepal abolished its 250-year-old monarchy and emerged as a federal republic.
During these decades, political instability prevailed with 25 Prime
Ministers in 27 years!
Last year, 2017, was a year of elections in Nepal.
Local body elections were held after a gap of 20 years.
This was followed by the elections under the new constitution for the national
parliament (the House of Representatives and the National Assembly) and
the seven Provincial Assemblies which concluded earlier this year.
Finally, on February 15, Mr. Oli began his second tenure as Prime Minister
Madhesi agitation against the new constitution
Undeclared blockade had fuelled anti-Indianism- Mr. Oli cleverly exploited
Mr. Oli visited Rasuwagadhi on the Nepal-Tibet border and announced
that it would be upgraded as a road and rail hub between China and Nepal
A rethink in Delhi- Prime Minister Narendra Modi‟s visit in August 2014 had
marked a new high in relations
Strengthening relations on the basis of “equality, mutual
trust, respect and benefit”
Difficult issues, including a review of the -1)-Contentious 1950 Treaty,
• 2)-Recruitment of Nepali nationals in the Gurkha regiments of the Indian Army,
• 3)-Resolving the fallout of the 2016 demonetisation exercise
• 4)-Long-pending hydel projects like Pancheshwar,
• 5)-Resumption of the SAARC summit process which remains stalled since 2016
Jaish-e-Mohammed militants attacked the Army base in Uri, and
The need for an inclusive political process, do not find any mention
China‟s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative offers Nepal an option that may end
up carrying unacceptable baggage but at least appears attractive at first.
Project implementation- India has been Nepal‟s most significant development
partner- Yet the pace of project implementation has been slow.
What is now needed is effective delivery on the pending projects,
So that connectivity is enhanced and the idea of „inclusive development
and prosperity‟ assumes reality
A register by the people
Draft National Forest Policy identifies threats to forests, but does not provide sys
tems for public involvement
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released a
draft National Forest Policy, 2018
Which calls for
Increasing forest cover,
Involving communities in forest management, and
Creating plantations for industrial use.
Before formulating such a policy, a question that needs to be asked is,
how much forest cover does India actually have?
State of Forest Report says that forest cover had increased in
India by 0.21% in 2017 from 2015, and that some areas had become
„Very Dense Forest‟ in this period.
Same time, the Ministry itself admits that between 2014 and 2017, India lost,
36,575 hectares of forest area towards 1,419 development projects.
So, two things are clear: even if forest cover is being increased, it is also simultan
eously being lost.
There is a need to create mechanisms to calculate our actual forest cover and
natural wealth, and this should form the basis for a forest policy
Biological Diversity Act, 2002, calls for setting up a Biodiversity Management
Committee in each local body- prepare People‟s Biodiversity Registers (PRBs)
Registers entail a complete documentation of biodiversity in the area —
plants, food sources, wildlife, medicinal sources, etc.
They are meant to enable the creation of local biodiversity funds
for conservation, and aid in decision-making
A move towards decentralisation of forest wealth
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
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