KATHMANDU, March 22: Lawmakers have strongly criticized the delay in making public the subcommittee report prepared by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa and Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA).
During Friday's committee meeting, lawmakers expressed their frustration over the subcommittee's failure to submit its report on Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports. CPN (Unified Socialist) lawmaker Prem Bahadur Ale questioned whether the repeated formation of subcommittees was an attempt to divert attention from the issues surrounding these airports.
He said, "I suspect that forming subcommittees is a strategy to divert attention from Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports. What results can we expect if a subcommittee is led by a member with a conflict of interest?
A deadline must be set for submitting subcommittee reports. In the past, when the Public Accounts Committee reached a near-unanimous decision on collecting outstanding dues for the truck and dedicated lines, the committee chair abruptly postponed the meeting."
Ale further stated that he would not be part of any committee until issues related to Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports, as well as the truck and dedicated lines, were resolved.
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Similarly, CPN-UML lawmaker Gokul Baskota said that a subcommittee had already been formed to investigate Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports and had prepared its report. He stated that the subcommittee had conducted investigations without any complaints being filed and refused to conduct another probe based solely on new complaints. He claimed that some complaints were driven by biases, prejudices, and suspicions, and they should not be discussed in the committee.
He said, "Many complaints are based on bias, prejudice, and suspicion. Discussing such issues will not yield any results. I do not agree with engaging in pointless debates."
Committee Chair Rishikesh Pokharel stated that all discussions in the committee were based on complaints and subcommittee findings. Addressing lawmakers’ concerns about the missing Bhairahawa and Pokhara airport subcommittee reports, he said unnecessary criticism should be avoided before the report is even submitted.
He said, "All complaints we have received and all discussions we have held were based on these complaints. The subcommittees have worked based on complaints, and some have already completed their tasks. Criticizing before receiving the report is not appropriate."
The PAC formed a subcommittee last May to study Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports. Although the subcommittee reportedly completed its report, it has yet to be submitted, prompting lawmakers to raise concerns.
Likewise, other lawmakers stressed the need to promptly address complaints submitted to the committee. They criticized the chairperson for failing to conduct effective discussions and reach conclusions on complaints filed with parliamentary committees.
They pointed out that a large number of complaints had been received, but Committee Chair Pokharel had not led discussions to resolve them. Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC suggested clustering complaints for discussion in the committee.
He said, "Just as we grouped irregularities for discussion, we should also cluster other complaints and discuss them accordingly. The clusters should be given a mandate, and both complainants and accused parties should be invited for discussions. Based on subcommittee discussions, the committee should move forward with deliberations on complaints."
Similarly, independent lawmaker Amaresh Kumar Singh emphasized the need to categorize complaints based on ministries and agencies and promptly form subcommittees for discussion.
He said, "It is important to determine the number of complaints related to each ministry and sector and then form subcommittees for discussion accordingly."
Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Hari Dhakal criticized the subcommittee for failing to deliver results. He said that even decisions that had already been made were not being implemented. Highlighting the unnatural rise in cement prices, he said that despite the committee's directive, the Ministry of Industry had failed to take any concrete action for months. He expressed concerns that this pattern of issuing directives without enforcement was raising questions about the committee’s effectiveness.