Cultural laws, policies to be amended in spirit of federalism

Published On: March 7, 2018 07:00 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


KATHMANDU, Mar 7: Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) on Tuesday held an interaction with cultural experts as it prepares to make amendment to National Cultural Policy 2010. 

The interaction was conducted in the presence of Tourism Secretary Krishna Prasad Devkota, Senior Culture Expert Satya Mohan Joshi, Lava Deo Awasthi and cultural experts, along with other stakeholders.     

The interaction focused on programs, strategies, and other policies that are required to promote and preserve cultural attractions of the country. 
The ministry is making amendment to the policy as well as 14 Acts prepared by the ministry in line with the spirit of federalism, officials of MoCTCA said.

“We are preparing to make amendment to all our laws and policies in line with the spirit of federalism,” Ghana Shyam Upadhyaya, the spokesperson for the ministry, said in the meeting. He further said that the interaction was focused on drafting new policies in line with the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal 2015.   

Since capability and identity are considered the bases of federal structure, the ministry is making amendment to Cultural Regulation 2067 BS based on identity-related sectors. “With the implementation o f federalism, we will have to delegate certain responsibilities and power to provincial and local governments,” Bharat Mani Subedi, joint secretary of Cultural Department under the ministry, said. “This is why we are planning to replace National Cultural Policy 2010 by issuing Federal Cultural Promotion Regulation 2017.”

According to a framework provided by the ministry, works of creating criteria and policies regarding culture, heritage sites and religions will come under the jurisdiction of the ministry. Similarly, the ministry will develop a policy related with ancient places and monuments, national museums, national and international historical sites as well as the heritage sites enlisted in UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Likewise, management of museum, preservation and promotion of language, script, culture, arts and religion, along with management of Guthi system, come under the working area of the provincial governments. Similarly, local units will work on preservation and development of particular language, culture and arts in their respective areas, while the provincial and local governments will have the responsibility of preserving and developing ancient, archeological sites and museums of their areas. 

“We have collected important suggestions and views from the cultural experts,” Subedi said adding: “Hopefully, the new policy will come out soon.” 

The ministry is also preparing to make amendment to existing laws and policies or bring new laws and policies related to tourism and civil aviation sectors.     


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