No bonus for NOC staff: MoCS
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 11 -
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has decided not to pay bonuses to the staff of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) ending a dispute over the additional benefits. The ministry on Wednesday made it clear that distributing bonuses to the employees of a company reeling under massive losses and debts was not justifiable.
This decision has overridden the agreement reached on Aug. 5 between the NOC’s board and two agitating unions that bonuses would be distributed as per the existing Bonus Act ending a two-day stalemate that had disrupted fuel supplies for one and a half days.
However, it was not clear what the Bonus Act defines. On one side, the Bonus Act allows any corporation to distribute bonus of up to 8 percent of the profit even if it has incurred a cumulative loss; however, on the other hand, it is apparent that the government could stop the distribution process.
At a press meet organized here on Wednesday, Purushottam Ojha, secretary at the MoCS and chairman of the NOC board said that the move was against the government and the anti-corruption body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) that had also issued order to stop bonus distribution. “We don’t want to go against the decision made by the government and the CIAA,” Ojha said. The state-owned oil monopoly had made a profit of Rs. 3.31 billion in the last fiscal year. NOC had earlier decided to distribute the bonus from its profit of fiscal year 2008/09. It, however, was forced to withdraw its decision following criticism from the government, the CIAA and consumer rights groups.
However, soon after the NOC management withdrew distribution of bonus, the unions started their agitation with their 13-point demand that also incorporated bonus issue as a prime focus.
The unions and the NOC board were at loggerheads after the board reversed its decision of distributing bonus worth Rs. 198.8 million. Dissatisfied union had justified that it was just a provisioning as per the Bonus Act but withdrawing it was to dishonour the employees’ rights. “As per the corporation auditing, the bonus has been allotted for the provisioning but not for distribution purpose,” Ojha said.
For the bonus distribution process, NOC has to request the MoCS. The Finance Ministry then has to give the permission to distribute the bonus. The government has a 98 percent stake in NOC.
Monday, August 16, 2010
New radar for TIA soon: CAAN
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 15 -
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country’s only international airport, is to get a new radar. Installation of the automated equipment will help TIA to handle the growing air traffic and improve safety and efficiency.
The system will enable pilots and air traffic controllers to see displays with highly accurate
traffic data from satellites, displays that update in real time and don’t degrade with distance or terrain. The system will also give pilots access to weather services, terrain maps and flight information services.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the new radar equipment will help improve reliability, provide additional weather data, reduce maintenance costs, improve performance and provide digital data for presentation on air traffic controller displays.
TIA’s existing radar is 12 years old and cannot provide coverage to new air routes, CAAN told the Post.
“If the new system is installed, we don’t have to bear high maintenance costs for the old ones. We will also be free of the hassle of looking for rare spare parts for the old radar,” said Mahendra Singh Rawal, director at Communications Navigation and Surviallance (CNS), CAAN.
The new radar can cover the whole of Nepal. Currently, there are two radar systems at TIA — primary radar and secondary survialance radar. The primary radar has a coverage of 60 nautical miles while the secondary radar has a coverage of 200 nautical miles, Rawal said.
CAAN has invited two experts from CNS and Air Traffic Management (ATM) from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to study the new radar installation and do a feasibility study of the precision approach landing system at TIA, said CAAN director general Ram Prasad Neupane.
“The study will be completed in October, and CAAN will call a global tender to install the radar,” Neupane said. CAAN has not made an assessment of how much it’s going to cost.
The existing radar was set up at a cost of US$ 34 million. It was serviced at a cost of Rs. 42.5 million last April 8 after a gap of 12 years even though maintenance is required every seven years.
According to Rawal, there are three types of radar systems -- primary and secondary radar, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast and multiluteration radar. “The selection will be made after a study which will suits the surveillance system,” he said. CAAN is also mulling where to install the radar. A study will be conducted on a feasible place either on a hilltop or in a plain area in Kathmandu.
TIA, which was designed to handle 1,300 passengers per hour, sometimes has to process over 2,000 passengers.
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 15 -
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country’s only international airport, is to get a new radar. Installation of the automated equipment will help TIA to handle the growing air traffic and improve safety and efficiency.
The system will enable pilots and air traffic controllers to see displays with highly accurate
traffic data from satellites, displays that update in real time and don’t degrade with distance or terrain. The system will also give pilots access to weather services, terrain maps and flight information services.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the new radar equipment will help improve reliability, provide additional weather data, reduce maintenance costs, improve performance and provide digital data for presentation on air traffic controller displays.
TIA’s existing radar is 12 years old and cannot provide coverage to new air routes, CAAN told the Post.
“If the new system is installed, we don’t have to bear high maintenance costs for the old ones. We will also be free of the hassle of looking for rare spare parts for the old radar,” said Mahendra Singh Rawal, director at Communications Navigation and Surviallance (CNS), CAAN.
The new radar can cover the whole of Nepal. Currently, there are two radar systems at TIA — primary radar and secondary survialance radar. The primary radar has a coverage of 60 nautical miles while the secondary radar has a coverage of 200 nautical miles, Rawal said.
CAAN has invited two experts from CNS and Air Traffic Management (ATM) from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to study the new radar installation and do a feasibility study of the precision approach landing system at TIA, said CAAN director general Ram Prasad Neupane.
“The study will be completed in October, and CAAN will call a global tender to install the radar,” Neupane said. CAAN has not made an assessment of how much it’s going to cost.
The existing radar was set up at a cost of US$ 34 million. It was serviced at a cost of Rs. 42.5 million last April 8 after a gap of 12 years even though maintenance is required every seven years.
According to Rawal, there are three types of radar systems -- primary and secondary radar, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast and multiluteration radar. “The selection will be made after a study which will suits the surveillance system,” he said. CAAN is also mulling where to install the radar. A study will be conducted on a feasible place either on a hilltop or in a plain area in Kathmandu.
TIA, which was designed to handle 1,300 passengers per hour, sometimes has to process over 2,000 passengers.
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