NEA Faced with Ultimatum to Disconnect Power Supply of 34 Defaultsing Industries Within 24 Hours

Kathmandu, Nepal - In a move that has left many worried, Prime Minister K P Oli has put his weight behind the defaulting business houses by urging his cabinet to press the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) into restoring power supply to 34 industries within a 24-hour deadline.

According to sources, the cabinet's decision was conveyed to the NEA authority today, instructing them to reconnect the lines of the defaultsing industries by midnight. The recent instruction comes after the NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising refused to restore power supply earlier on verbal orders from the prime minister, citing a need for more formal instructions.

The issue has sparked controversy as it's alleged that the move amounts to "corrupt practice". Industry insiders claim that 34 businesses that were connected round-the-clock between February 1972 and April 1975 – during Nepal's worst days of load-shedding – defaulted on their payments. According to estimates, this breach of agreement is estimated to have cost the NEA around 28 billion rupees.

Criticisms of the government's move are piling up from both within its own ranks and across party lines. In a first since the policy was introduced two decades back, many in parliament are questioning whether such decisions can be shielded from scrutiny by constitutional bodies.

The opposition party has already begun protesting against what they call 'power politics', demanding reforms and strengthening checks on unregulated practices, while other critics fear that the power distribution may not be distributed equitably among all groups.