KATHMANDU, Dec 24: Lawmakers have called for encouraging the participation of the private sector in the development of the electricity sector.
During discussions held by the Parliamentary Infrastructure Development Committee with those who have sought amendments to the Power Bill 2080 BS, the participants stressed that the Bill should be prepared in a way so that the private sector's involvement in development of the electricity sector could be encouraged.
At the discussion, lawmaker Gagan Thapa highlighted the need to provide more space to the private sector. He questioned the proposed provision that cites that it is not necessary for a competition in any power project having 51 percent or more than that's governments' investment. He proposed that the local levels should be allowed to develop a project of up to three megawatt instead of proposed five megawatts.
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Similarly, former home minister Janardan Sharma advised the government to provide licenses to power producers on the basis of their competency and ensure competition in projects identified by the government. "National parks have caused obstructions in operations of hydropower projects and the issues have been eased," he said.
Likewise, lawmaker Bina Lama stressed that the energy sector be secured. She called for coming up with a substantive plan for the development of settlement. "Private sector should be encouraged to invest in power production, but where the private sector makes investment, the government should not invest in such projects. Otherwise, corruption will prevail," she said.
Similarly, lawmakers Laxmi Tiwari and Kalpana Chaudhary called for incorporating the issues raised during the discussion into the Bill.
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