Govt to bring out relief packages

KATHMANDU, Sept 8: The first meeting of the cabinet since its expansion on Sunday is set to announce relief packages for the underprivileged and measures for good governance.



Officials at the prime minister´s office said the cabinet meeting scheduled for eight am Thursday would endorse the programs that were formulated after the ascendancy of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to prime ministership. [break]



"It is not anything huge. It just means convincing the people that the government is committed to bringing change in the lives of the ordinary people and ensure good governance," said an official at the PM office.



According to sources, the package includes creating jobs, fixing minimum salary for workers, making available land for the landless, providing fertilizers and seeds to peasants at reasonable prices as well as special relief for poor peasants and cottage industry owners, controlling the prices of consumer goods and ensuring their smooth supply, ending corruption, smuggling, bribery, ensuring free health services for the poor and programs for the care of the elderly.



Prime Minister Bhattarai had sought recommendations from all the ministries on the kind of relief packages he could announce for now.



Meanwhile, the Maoists are holding a meeting of the top office bearers on Thursday to discuss the current course of the peace process and government formation. The party hardliners have not yet joined the government crying foul over the handover of the keys of the containers to the Special Committee.



NC, Maoist top leaders meet



Prime Minister Bhattarai and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal met NC President Sushil Koirala and Ram Chandra Paudel at the prime minister´s official residence in Baluwatar Wednesday and held talks on the stalled peace process.



According to Bhattarai´s aide Bishwadeep Pandey, the Maoist leaders urged the NC leaders to cooperate with the government in concluding the constitution drafting and peace process.



"There are not many differences between us on issues of the peace process. So we should work together for the safe-landing of the peace process," Pandey quoted Bhattarai as saying at the meeting.



Pandey said Koirala and Paudel told Bhattarai and Dahal that they would cooperate with the Maoist-led government, despite the fact that they have differences. "We can resolve the differences on issues of the peace process," Pandey quoted Koirala as saying.

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