KATHMANDU: Various decisions taken lately by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), including the one on granting permission to two telecom companies to expand services, may be annulled, as the legitimacy of the existing ad-hoc board that leads the telecom sector regulatory body has been called into question.
This situation arose after the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) failed to call on the legislature-parliament to endorse the decision on formation of the temporary board. The existing ad-hoc board of the NTA was formed on MoIC’s order in February last year after the Supreme Court (SC) stayed appointment of Digambar Jha as NTA’s new chairman.
The MoIC order had paved the way for the ad-hoc board to call meetings and make necessary decisions until a new chairman joins the office. However, MoIC’s failure to present the order at Parliament and get it endorsed has raised the question over authenticity of decisions taken by the ad-hoc board. A high level MoIC official told The Himalayan Times that the ministry was making preparations to table the order at Parliament to complete legal formalities.
However, Tulasi Bhatta, former NTA board member representing the legal sector, said that the ministry may not be able to do so as the deadline has already expired. “So, from the legal point of view, the existing NTA board and decisions it has taken can be considered invalid,” he added.
Generally, ordinances and orders like those issued by the MoIC aimed at removing constitutional difficulties have to be registered at and endorsed by Parliament within 60 days of convening of the House of Representatives.
This means the MoIC had to table the order when the parliamentary session began on January 26 and continued for 91 days. During this period, 22 of 24 ordinances and three orders, like those issued by the NTA, were passed.
However, Dhan Raj Gyawali, an NTA board member, who is also from legal background, said that there is no clear-cut provision on endorsing orders within 60 days of convening of the House as in the case of ordinances.
But Advocate Uttam Shrestha begged to differ. “The MoIC made a severe mistake by failing to inform Parliament about the formation of the temporary board because the Telecommunications Act 1997 clearly states that temporary orders should be endorsed by the House of Representatives as soon as possible,” he said. If what Shrestha said were to come true, the board’s decision to approve NTA’s annual plan and renew licence of one telecom company and internet service providers may be annulled.
But the biggest victims in this episode would be two telecom companies that have been granted permission to operate multiple telecom services through a single licence. At least one of these companies has paid licence fee to the tune of millions of rupees and started laying groundwork to provide multiple telecom services, including cellular mobile, fixed telephony and international long distance calls.
In a gist
• Existing ad-hoc NTA board formed on MoIC’s order in Feb, 2013 after Supreme Court stayed appointment of Digambar Jha as NTA’s new chairman
• MoIC preparing to table the order at Parliament to complete legal formalities
• However, ordinances and orders have to be registered at and endorsed by Parliament within 60 days of convening of House of Representatives
• This means MoIC had to table the order when the parliamentary session began on January 26 and continued for 91 days
• The board’s decision to approve NTA’s annual plan and renew licences may be annulled
This situation arose after the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) failed to call on the legislature-parliament to endorse the decision on formation of the temporary board. The existing ad-hoc board of the NTA was formed on MoIC’s order in February last year after the Supreme Court (SC) stayed appointment of Digambar Jha as NTA’s new chairman.
The MoIC order had paved the way for the ad-hoc board to call meetings and make necessary decisions until a new chairman joins the office. However, MoIC’s failure to present the order at Parliament and get it endorsed has raised the question over authenticity of decisions taken by the ad-hoc board. A high level MoIC official told The Himalayan Times that the ministry was making preparations to table the order at Parliament to complete legal formalities.
However, Tulasi Bhatta, former NTA board member representing the legal sector, said that the ministry may not be able to do so as the deadline has already expired. “So, from the legal point of view, the existing NTA board and decisions it has taken can be considered invalid,” he added.
Generally, ordinances and orders like those issued by the MoIC aimed at removing constitutional difficulties have to be registered at and endorsed by Parliament within 60 days of convening of the House of Representatives.
This means the MoIC had to table the order when the parliamentary session began on January 26 and continued for 91 days. During this period, 22 of 24 ordinances and three orders, like those issued by the NTA, were passed.
However, Dhan Raj Gyawali, an NTA board member, who is also from legal background, said that there is no clear-cut provision on endorsing orders within 60 days of convening of the House as in the case of ordinances.
But Advocate Uttam Shrestha begged to differ. “The MoIC made a severe mistake by failing to inform Parliament about the formation of the temporary board because the Telecommunications Act 1997 clearly states that temporary orders should be endorsed by the House of Representatives as soon as possible,” he said. If what Shrestha said were to come true, the board’s decision to approve NTA’s annual plan and renew licence of one telecom company and internet service providers may be annulled.
But the biggest victims in this episode would be two telecom companies that have been granted permission to operate multiple telecom services through a single licence. At least one of these companies has paid licence fee to the tune of millions of rupees and started laying groundwork to provide multiple telecom services, including cellular mobile, fixed telephony and international long distance calls.
In a gist
• Existing ad-hoc NTA board formed on MoIC’s order in Feb, 2013 after Supreme Court stayed appointment of Digambar Jha as NTA’s new chairman
• MoIC preparing to table the order at Parliament to complete legal formalities
• However, ordinances and orders have to be registered at and endorsed by Parliament within 60 days of convening of House of Representatives
• This means MoIC had to table the order when the parliamentary session began on January 26 and continued for 91 days
• The board’s decision to approve NTA’s annual plan and renew licences may be annulled
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