Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: A meeting of major political parties held to discuss the formation of a parliamentary special committee to advise the government on measures it should take following the Bhotekoshi floods ended inconclusively on Thursday.
The meeting, convened at the initiative of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) parliamentary party deputy leader Ganesh Parajuli, failed to reach a consensus on the number of members to be represented on the proposed committee.
According to Nepali Congress (NC) Whip Nishcal Rai, opposition leaders proposed forming a small joint committee that would also include the National Assembly, in line with the Joint Sitting Rules, so that all parties could have a sense of ownership. “However, the ruling party insisted that representation should be based on the numerical strength of the respective parties,” he added.
Rai said the parties agreed to let the high-level mechanism finalize the committee’s coordinator and structure, and decided to convene another meeting soon.
“As the committee is being proposed for a special situation, it was suggested that it initially have a three-month tenure, which could be extended if necessary,” he said.
Similarly, deputy leader of CPN-UML parliamentary party Padma Aryal said the parties felt the need for further coordination and cooperation on the number of members, tenure and terms of reference of the committee.
“Regarding the tenure, two options were discussed. First, setting a three-month tenure and extending it if the committee fails to complete its work. Second, setting a six-month tenure from the outset,” she added.
Aryal said the proposed terms of reference include studying problems encountered in post-disaster relief and rescue operations and the status of identification of recovered bodies and the search for unaccounted-for people.
“The committee will also study financial management in the affected areas and conduct field assessments of problems faced by local residents,” she added
Aryal said the committee is intended to monitor and assist the government in addressing the disaster without dividing the issue along ruling and opposition lines.
