Paudel appointed Gandaki’s forest and environment minister

KATHMANDU: Bhesh Bahadur Paudel of the Nepali Congress has been appointed as the Minister for Forest and Environment in the Gandaki Province Government.

Paudel is said to be close to the anti-establishment faction of the Nepali Congress, led by Dr. Shekhar Koirala.

The position had been vacant since Rajiv Gurung, also known as Deepak Manange, stepped down, expressing dissatisfaction over portfolio allocation.

Gurung, who was serving as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure, was assigned the forest and environment portfolio after the UML joined Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey’s government.

The nine-member cabinet of Chief Minister Pandey includes four ministers from the Nepali Congress, four from the CPN-UML, and one from the Nepal Samajbadi Party (NSP).