PM Balen Shah Solicits Technical Ideas from Engineer Lawmakers

Prime Minister Balendra Shah held a two-hour consultation on Wednesday with 17 members of the House of Representatives possessing engineering backgrounds, urging them to apply their technical expertise toward long-term national policy, industrial development, and upcoming legislation.

The meeting, held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar, brought together Rasuwa lawmaker Mohan Acharya of the Nepali Congress alongside lawmakers from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Onlinekhabar reported. The Prime Minister's Office indicated that parliamentarians from the CPN-UML and the Nepali Communist Party were not invited because neither party currently has lawmakers with engineering credentials.

According to an attendee quoted by Onlinekhabar, Prime Minister Shah classified lawmakers into three categories based on expression and output: "average," "below average," and "extraordinary." The attendee said Shah labeled engineers as extraordinary figures who should pitch creative solutions and industrial ideas rather than focusing on routine political grievances or minor events.

However, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat disputed that any formal ranking took place. According to Deepa Dahal, the prime minister's press and research expert cited by Onlinekhabar, Shah did not categorize lawmakers into three tiers. Instead, the secretariat explained that the prime minister urged technical legislators to channel their professional skills and knowledge toward governance rather than spending the legislative term immersed in day-to-day party disputes. Both Gorkhapatra and Annapurna Post similarly reported that Shah encouraged technical lawmakers to look beyond partisan politics and prioritize long-term policy planning.

Discussions during the session, which ran from noon to 2:15 p.m., opened with lawmakers reviewing on-the-ground damage following recent monsoon floods and landslides, Onlinekhabar noted. Shah subsequently assured the gathering that the cabinet and ministries were monitoring parliamentary debates and offered direct access to his office for actionable infrastructure ideas.

Policy reform and industrialization formed a key part of the conversation. RSP lawmaker Dr. Ram Lama confirmed the interaction to Onlinekhabar, noting that he pressed the prime minister on amending restrictive laws, particularly forest regulations, which frequently delay major infrastructure works. Dr. Lama stated that he also emphasized the need to stimulate domestic electricity consumption.

In response, Shah pledged that his administration would prioritize domestic power usage over mere energy exports, Dr. Lama said. The prime minister also told lawmakers that the government intends to call for proposals soon to establish a domestic chemical fertilizer plant, offering concessions to industrial initiatives that expand national electricity consumption.