Nepal: Janakpur Cigarette Factory Dissolved

Source from:  Himalayan Times 07/05/2013

The government has decided to dissolve the Board of Directors and lay off all employees of Janakpur Cigarette Factory effective from today. As many as 758 employees were working with JCF.

According to Minister for Information and Communications Madhav Poudel, the Cabinet today decided to this effect. It also decided to form a taskforce under a joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry to study the fate of JCF. The task force will submit its report within a month.

Poudel further said the government has also decided to appoint a joint secretary of Ministry of Industry to look after the factory as general manager until further decision.

Built in 1965 with assistance from then Soviet Union, JCF, once the leading cigarette manufacturer in the country, was closed since 2011 and was bleeding the government.

The government decided to accept the grant of Rs 1.9 billion from Asian Development Bank for Skill Development Project and also accept the grant and loan amount of 9 crore 90 lakh US $ from World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) for Nepal-India Regional Trade and Transport Facilitation Project.

The cabinet also decided to set up the Ministry for Cooperation and Poverty Alleviation and make it the focal point for activities related to poverty alleviation of BIMSTEC and SAARC. National Planning Commission used to be the focal point earlier.

Likewise, the government decided to send the five-point agreement signed by the government with Kirant Workers Party to the political committee of the Cabinet. Enditem