Gayananda Mandal appointed as a Minister of State
MORANG, Aug 16: On Wednesday, the Chief Minister (CM) of Koshi Province, Uddhav Thapa, expanded the cabinet and appointed a member of the Nepali Congress as a Minister of State. Gayanand Mandal, the newly appointed Minister of State for Industries, Agriculture and Cooperatives of Koshi Province, has taken the oath of office and secrecy.
CM Thapa administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mandal in the presence of Province Chief Parshuram Khapung at the Chief Minister's office. Earlier, CM Thapa appointed other ministers.
Pradeep Kumar Sunuwar from the Nepali Congress is the Minister for Drinking Water, Irrigation and Energy, Baburam Gautam from the CPN (Maoist Center) is the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, Kamal Jabegu from the CPN (Unified Socialist) is the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development and Nirmala Limbu from the Janata Samajwadi Party is the Minister for Health.
Speaking to the media after the expansion of the cabinet, CM Thapa said that the provincial government is focused on bringing the budget through a consensus among the parties. The government has focused on bringing and passing the budget in the upcoming provincial assembly meeting.
Stating that the budget is being discussed with the opposition parties and the budget will be passed in agreement with them, CM Thapa said, "We have taken it seriously to pass the budget from the provincial assembly meeting on August 18 to prevent a budget holiday situation in the province." The budget from the ordinance is currently on hold. It will be most unfortunate if there are budget holidays.
The government is preparing to bring the budget through a consensus. The government will pass the budget and implement it within August 27. CM Thapa said that the government will determine the appropriate time to seek a vote of confidence in the provincial assembly.