Special Committee fails to set date for vacating PLA camps
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KATHMANDU, DEC 17 -
The prime minister-led Special Committee late on Friday night failed to endorse a time-bound calendar for vacating cantonment sites after major parties remained sharply divided on implementing the army integration and voluntary retirement programmes together.
The Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML proposed that the government bid farewell to combatants opting for voluntary retirement by December 30. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and Maoist representative in the committee Barsha Man Pun insisted that they could only commit to complete the process within 15 days of the commencement of farewell ceremonies.
“The Maoists stressed that the number of combatants opting for integration during regrouping will be reduced once the integration process is agreed upon,” said Nepali Congress leader and Special Committee member Ram Sharan Mahat. “We could not reach an agreement after they insisted that those switching their interests and those opting for voluntary retirement be released from cantonments together.”
The Maoists have been saying that the number of combatants opting for integration would drop once there is a political decision on rank determination. Despite the ceiling of 6,500 combatants in the proposed directorate of the Nepal Army, 9,708 combatants have opted for integration.
An operational plan to bid farewell to combatants opting for voluntary retirement was presented by coordinator of the Special Committee Secretariat Balananda Sharma in a meeting held in Baluwatar on Friday evening.
The plan proposes conducting farewell ceremonies in all the 28 cantonments and completing the programme within 12 days of the commencement of the release process.
The government will have to pay more than Rs 3.69 billion for over 7,200 combatants who opted for voluntary retirement in the initial phase. The seven-point deal signed by the major parties on November 1 commits to pay the combatants in two installments.
“We have suggested the parties take a decision and arrange the amount to be given to the combatants as the first installment,” said Secretariat member Sanandan Prasad Kurmi.
The secretariat has also suggested that the special committee conduct a special programme in one of the main cantonment sites that will be attended by major party leaders and representatives of the diplomatic community and the media to mark the beginning of the farewell process.
It also recommends setting up a mobile bank at cantonment sites to facilitate the opening of bank accounts. Upon receiving the recommendation of the Special Committee, the Nepal Rastra Bank has agreed to open bank accounts in the name of the combatants.
According to recent figures, the number of combatants opting for voluntary retirement is 7,280. The number will swell to around 10,470 once the combatants opting for integration is reduced to the maximum limit of 6,500.
The government will have to pay Rs 3,690,400,000 for the 7,280 combatants. An additional Rs 1.61 billion will be required if the combatants exceeding the integration limit switch to voluntary retirement.
The plan also recommends providing a letter of appreciation to combatants opting for voluntary retirement and rehabilitation and providing a share (50 percent of the proposed package) to family members of the combatants who have died in the cantonments.
It also recommends the government to provide Rs 2,000 per day as travel allowance to combatants during their exit and arrange for transport facilities from the cantonments to the nearest highway that will connect them to their homes.
“We have recommended providing a maximum allowance of Rs 10,000 for five days,” Kurmi said.
After the exit of the combatants opting for voluntary retirement, the secretariat has suggested relocating the combatants opting for integration in the main and satellite cantonments that are close to the highways.
Rank Voluntary Amount Total
Retirement
Division Vice Commander 4 Rs 800,000 Rs 3,200,000
Brigade Commander 6 Rs 700,000 Rs 4,200,000
Brigade Vice Commander 13 Rs 700,000 Rs 9,100,000
Battalion Commander 43 Rs 600,000 Rs 25,800,000
Battalion Vice Commander 54 Rs 600,000 Rs 32,400,000
Company Commander 177 Rs 600,000 Rs 106,200,000
Company Vice Commander 200 Rs 600,000 Rs 120,000,000
Platoon Commander 598 Rs 500,000 Rs 299,000,000
Platoon Vice Commander 689 Rs 500,000 Rs 344,500,000
Section Commander 1,369 Rs 500,000 Rs 684,500,000
Section Vice Commander 903 Rs 500,000 Rs 451,500,000
Front Guard Leader 759 Rs 500,000 Rs 379,500,000
Members 2,461 Rs 500,000 Rs 1,230,500,000
Total 7,276 - Rs 3,690,400,000
(Source: Report submitted by the Secretariat to the Special Committee on December 11)
Posted on: 2011-12-17 08:59
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