KATHMANDU: Nepal Center for Security Governance (NCSG), a think-tank working in the area of security and defense, organized a three-day workshop on ”Parliamentary Oversight: Sharing and Discussion” at Dhulikhel, Kavre, from August 6-8, 2021.

As many as 17 Federal and Provincial Members of Parliament (MPs) attended the workshop that dwelled on a wide range of issues, including the international experience of parliamentary oversight and security sector governance and parliamentary oversight in Nepal after the 1990s. In addition, parliamentarians attending the workshop shared their experiences of parliamentary exercise and parliamentary oversight in the country.

NCSG Chairperson Abhaya Raj Joshi presided over the three-day workshop wherein Pabitra Niruala Kharel, chairperson of International Relations Committee (IRC) of the House of Representatives (HoR), attended as the chief guest.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Chief Guest and IRC Chair Kharel highlighted the concept of security from a state-centric to a people-centric perspective. Further, she emphasized the significance of Nepal’s geostrategic location in South Asia and the world.

The workshop was divided into five technical sessions that were moderated by Chiranjibi Bhandari.

Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police (Retd) Surendra Bahadur Shah, Major Gen (Retd) Purna Bahadur Silwal, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Nepal Bhusan Chand, MP from Kanchanpur Dr. Deepak Prakash Bhatt and Advocate Govinda Bandi, among others, shared their expertise on the principle and practices of security governance and parliamentary oversight in the national and international context.

Parliamentarians from all seven provinces, two from each, utilized the this specific inter-provincial workshop, which was one of its kind, as a space for exchanging their learning among each other and realized that the technical sessions were highly relevant in broadening their knowledge in the areas of the security sector governance and parliamentary oversight.

During the technical sessions, provincial MPs shared their views regarding developing ‘Provincial Act’ to establish the provincial structure of Nepal Police as three provinces — Province 1, Province 2 and Gandaki Province — have already passed the Act while others are preparing to do the same.

Most of the provincial MPs raised concern over the reluctance of the national leadership to provide rights to provinces and local bodies pursuant to schedules in the constitution.