Kathmandu(IANS) : Almost 10 months after Nepal’s new constitution laid down that King Gyanendra would forfeit all the property he had inherited from his slain brother and the royal palaces would be put to public use, the cabinet finally passed an ordinance, beginning the legal process.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala held a meeting of his cabinet to pass an ordinance for establishing a trust that would in future administer the six royal palaces and land measuring over 25 million sq ft, which are to be eventually put to public use.
The Nepal Trust Ordinance however still has a long way to go before it can produce results. It now has to be tabled in parliament and passed by the house.
The next session of parliament starts Nov 19. Even then, with the Maoist demand to immediately abolish the monarchy by amending the constitution and adopt a fully proportional election system expected to be the main agenda, it is doubtful when the ordinance will finally become an act.
Even after parliament approves the ordinance, the law ministry will have to draft appropriate laws, providing a long reprieve to the royal family.
The ordinance means the king will lose the Narayanhity royal palace — the official seat of Nepal’s royal family, and his winter residence – and the Nagarjuna palace on the outskirts of the Kathmandu valley.
In addition, he will also lose control over three more ancient palaces in the Kathmandu valley and at least three more in the districts, including the residence in sunny Pokhara city where he had spent much time during the 15 months he ruled the country directly.
Though the government had said some of the palaces would be converted into museums and schools, no concrete plan has been produced so far.
After the fall of Gyanendra’s army-backed government due to a public uprising last year, the new constitution that came into effect in January 2007 took several punitive actions against the ambitious king.
Besides stripping him of his position as the head of government and the army, it decided to wrest away the properties he had inherited from his elder brother Birendra.
King Birendra and his entire family, including queen Aishwarya, crown prince Dipendra and the prince’s two other siblings, died in the infamous palace massacre in 2001.
Gyanendra succeeded the slain king and inherited the considerable wealth of the slain family.
However, despite the government making several half-hearted measures to gauge the extent of the inherited wealth — which includes bank accounts and priceless jewellery — full figures have not come to light.
The Koirala government faced intense public criticism for failing to carry out the directives of the constitution.
The prime minister has been using the palace as a tool to deflect Maoist anger.
Every time the Maoists wage a war on the government, Koirala orders a measure against the royal family to pacify the rebels.
However, none of the measures are actually implemented, including the prime minister’s orders a month ago that the number of royal guards at the palace be halved.
The new ordinance too comes ahead of the next parliament session where the Maoists will pressure Koirala to amend the constitution so that monarchy can be abolished immediately.