'Infectious Animal Disease Control Bill, 2083' Passed by Legislation Management Committee

Kathmandu: The Legislation Management Committee of the National Assembly has unanimously passed the 'Bill Designed to Make Provisions Regarding the Control of Infectious Animal Diseases, 2083' with amendments.

The proposal to pass the bill with revisions—presented by Chairperson Krishna Bahadur Rokaya following a discussion on the bill's report during Tuesday's committee meeting—was approved unanimously.

The bill incorporates necessary legal provisions for the control and prevention of infectious animal diseases and for safeguarding livestock against potential infections. With the passing of this bill, the legal framework for identifying, controlling, and preventing infectious animal diseases is expected to be significantly strengthened.

During the deliberations, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, and Environment suggested establishing a fund to provide compensation, relief, and rehabilitation to farmers and livestock rearers affected by infectious animal diseases. Ministry Secretary Dr. Rajendra Prasad Mishra emphasized the need for practical and implementable provisions rather than overly mandatory ones. On behalf of the Ministry, he requested the use of the term "may" (implying discretion) and suggested that the fund be designated under the heading "Provisions Regarding Compensation, Relief, and Rehabilitation."

Lawmaker Jhakku Prasad Subedi of the Communist Party of Nepal called for clear legal distinctions between epidemic-level diseases and infectious diseases. He argued that epidemic-level diseases should be viewed in the context of crises arising from events like COVID-19 or natural disasters. Regarding the exercise of authority at the local level, he suggested linguistic revisions to ensure that implementation occurs through the Chief Administrative Officer, rather than the Chairperson or Mayor issuing direct orders to staff. Suresh Kumar Ale Magar, another MP from the same party, demanded a clarification regarding the amendment to the original bill that replaced the phrase "infectious animal diseases and epidemic infectious animal diseases" with simply "infectious animal diseases." He also emphasized that the identification and prevention of diseases, as well as the safeguarding of animal health and production, should be clearly outlined as two distinct objectives in the bill's preamble.