KATHMANDU, Nov 26: The proposal for an updated Nepal Vehicle Standard has been stalled due to multiple rounds of discussions among concerned ministries as they repeatedly fail to agree to a progressive amendment to the law proposed by the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE) to curb greenhouse gases emissions from motor vehicles.
The MoFE is attempting to apply the Euro 5 standard of greenhouse emission to vehicles in Nepal to decrease the carbon footprint of the country. However, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) has been dilly-dallying in providing a response to the MoFE and is against presenting the proposal at the cabinet. According to an official at the MoFE, the proposal has been rejected by the cabinet three times without substantial discussion.
Officials from the MoFE informed Republica that the ministry has received approval for the proposed standard from all other concerned ministries except for MoPIT. “The Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Finance have already approved the proposal,” spokesperson for the MoFE Badri Raj Dhungana said, “However, we have not received any confirmation from the MoPIT.”
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According to Meghnath Kafle, chief of the Environment and Biodiversity Division under the MoFE, the new Nepal Vehicle Standard is necessary because the Nepal Vehicle Standard 2067 BS is outdated.
“It has been 14 years since the last vehicle standard was implemented,” he told Republica, “The technology used for cars has developed to a point where average motor vehicles in the international markets emit less than half greenhouse gases compared to the most carbon-efficient vehicles in the time when the last vehicle standard was implemented.”
Krishna Raj Panta, chief of the Infrastructure Work and Transport Division under the MoPIT, informed Republica that the division has already sent its decision on the proposed standard to the concerned division of the ministry. “We have included some suggestions to the proposal in our decision,” he said, “The suggestions will be forwarded to MoFE in due time.”
However, the spokesperson for MoPIT Sushil Babu Dhakal claimed that the decision of the Infrastructure Work and Transport division is yet to be relayed to the administrative division of the MoPIT.
An official from the MoFE slammed the MoPIT for creating hurdles to the implementation of the new standard citing the heavy presence of interest groups behind the sluggish action. “There is an interest group consisting of vehicle importers that has been opposing the implementation of a new vehicle standard since some of their imports might be stopped when the standard is applied,” spokesperson Dhungana said, “This group is creating debate at the MoPIT and demanding unwarranted amendments to the standard.”
Another official, under the condition of anonymity, reasoned that the repeated demand of amendment shows the intention of the MoPIT in delaying the standard. “If the MoPIT really wanted to help in improving the standard, they would have communicated all the suggestions at a single time,” the official said, “However, they are coming up with different suggestions each time they are sent the proposal for the standard. This shows their intention to stall the proposal.”
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