Ever since the first flight into Kathmandu of a Beechcraft Bonanza in 1949 and the rapid development of civil aviation, Nepal’s terrain has necessitated the use of Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) aircraft that serve small mountain airstrips. Building roads and infrastructure to connect remote communities was always expensive, and until recently many districts were <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/airfields-without-airplanes">only accessible through STOL airfields</a>, or by foot. Despite a growing road network over the years, STOL operations continue to be a vital lifeline to isolated settlements in the mountains. Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation began its operations in 1958 with World War II vintage DC-3s, but for shorter airfields it inducted the de Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otters in 1970. At one point, Nepal’s flag carrier had an assortment of 19 aircraft, including nine Twin Otters and three Pilatus Porter PC-6 STOL aircraft. &nbsp; The airline also briefly flew the STOL-capable Harbin Y-12E in 2014 and has only two airworthy Twin Otters. However, it was the STOL operations of Nepal Airlines 50 years ago that laid the foundation for the entry of private domestic STOL operators.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241109041120_1faf65214d8d7aa0a7e4659f831d0f721cd61155cf5aab8403db43049fb030ff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241109041120_1faf65214d8d7aa0a7e4659f831d0f721cd61155cf5aab8403db43049fb030ff" data-rendition-name="original" width="1311" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Keeping pilots flying to remote areas NT"> <figcaption>Photos: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  The government’s open skies policy in the 1990s dismantled the monopoly of the state-owned Nepal Airlines, heralding the privatisation of Nepal’s domestic aviation market and the arrival of many STOL-only airlines, of which Sita Air, Summit Air, and Tara Air are still operating today. However, flying STOL aircraft has become a less preferred job option for pilots, and flight crew retention has become a challenge for them. After initial progression, STOL pilots typically encounter career stagnation and face two alternatives: remain in the same company with the same flight responsibilities, or take on additional management responsibilities with fewer flight hours. The rapid expansion of non-STOL flights by other domestic operators has created a third option: career enhancement with higher salaries. While employees tend to remain in organisations as long as they receive continuous, nominal salary increases, the lack of STOL pilot bonuses can make alternative jobs more attractive.&nbsp; As a result, the STOL pilot has the choice of remaining satisfied with the financial and social aspects of a current job, or seek alternative non-STOL pilot options on ATRs, Q400s, and CRJ of other domestic airlines. The higher salary of STOL pilots is a dominant factor affecting retention.&nbsp; Pilots join the aviation industry for the glamour, salary or career prospects of flying jet aircraft. Pilots choosing to remain in STOL operations typically prioritise salary over career prospects, while pilots who leave STOL operations choose career prospects as their primary motivation.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241109041120_a28c6905b08c9ebed3415b5c5766de5388cd19a7718bac5dfb9c365fae289e69.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241109041120_a28c6905b08c9ebed3415b5c5766de5388cd19a7718bac5dfb9c365fae289e69" data-rendition-name="original" width="2022" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Keeping pilots flying to remote areas NT"> <figcaption>Rara, Mugu</figcaption> </figure>  As they get older, a pilot’s priorities also change, although there does not seem to be a correlation between age and retention as a STOL pilot. Other factors, such as safety, compensation and benefits, and non-monetary factors like supervisor relations can affect the retention of STOL pilots. Communication, incentive structures and a guanxi network can be helpful in pilot retention as appropriate to the organisation’s cultural context and leadership style. However, the departure of pilots can cause significant economic loss to the airlines which invested substantially in their training. A survey of STOL pilots currently flying and those who had quit for better opportunities elsewhere found that while sufficient salary was necessary to retain pilots, the reasons for pilots leaving depended on whether they were family-oriented or extrinsically motivated. Additionally, the responses suggest that STOL pilots did not view salary, bonuses, incentives, medical benefits and annual leave as separate components of salary but rather tended to see all these as a total package of monetary and non-monetary benefits. STOL pilots typically draw a base salary for a predetermined number of flight hours that they need to fly, which can range between 40–60 hours a month, after which they receive an hourly rate for every extra flight hour. In addition, when deputed out of the base station, they receive a daily meal allowance and daily night-stop allowance. The salary has been structured to incentivise them to fly more flights willingly, even though Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) regulations restrict pilots to a maximum of 1,000 flight hours a year and 100 flight hours a month. STOL pilots typically approach 100 hours a month during the peak season and 40–50 hours a month off-peak.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241109041120_df0c519bc4e9404a3f624c623798fcb28dadcca011bc04bf5423231b42fe23df.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241109041120_df0c519bc4e9404a3f624c623798fcb28dadcca011bc04bf5423231b42fe23df" data-rendition-name="original" width="1781" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Keeping pilots flying to remote areas NT"> </figure>  Since the STOL pilot’s salary is based on the flight hours, there is a tendency to push the acceptable limits during marginal weather. Furthermore, even though STOL pilot salaries are lower than non-STOL pilots, their standby hours waiting for weather improvements in airfields with few navigational aids are significantly higher than non-STOL pilots. Hence the challenge of retaining STOL pilots must also be seen in the broader context of the expansion of the road network. The new STOL airfield construction spree due to political pressure has not increased passenger demand. Domestic airlines flying STOL aircraft like Twin Otters, LET410s, and Dornier Do228 subsidise their Nepali passengers by charging higher USD rates on tourist sectors like Lukla, Jomsom or Jufal. Therefore, STOL operators in Nepal are not in a financial position to offer competitive salaries, incentives, and bonuses to their pilots, which can impact their retention.&nbsp; On the other hand, STOL pilots with managerial responsibilities in an airline tend to be retained by the airline better than other pilots. In the past, STOL pilots used to be paid more than their counterparts flying bigger non-STOL planes. Nevertheless, broader options in non-STOL airlines in Nepal and overseas show that salary alone is no longer a sufficient factor in recruitment and retention of STOL pilots.&nbsp; Operators therefore have to fulfil other retention factors to keep STOL crew motivation and retention high. &nbsp; Captain Ajay Pradhan has over three decades of experience in STOL operations and has completed his doctorate on retention of Nepali STOL pilots from Australia.

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Keeping pilots flying to remote areas

There was a time 40 years ago when most of Nepal was still roadless, and aviation became a lifeline for many districts, even in the plains.&nbsp; After the DC-3s of Royal Nepal Airlines started being replaced with short takeoff and landing (STOL) de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otters, many airfields with grass runways came into operation from Bajhang in the west to Taplejung in the east. At that time, the national airline had 10 Twin Otters, and even though they flew mostly on loss-making routes, the state subsidised them to ensure connectivity.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241108041144_5b2ba7e52b649bd53256ad1dee30b5eeb615eb2bfed6d9f73894fce09872eeec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241108041144_5b2ba7e52b649bd53256ad1dee30b5eeb615eb2bfed6d9f73894fce09872eeec" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1042" loading="lazy" alt="Airfields without airplanes NT"> <figcaption>Jomsom, Mustang. Photos: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  The decline of Royal Nepal Airlines began, like most other parastatal corporations, with post-1990 political interference and corruption. A flock of new private airlines took off, and despite a government regulation that they also serve STOL airfields, air services to many remote areas were scrapped. Of the 49 airports in the country, 37 are STOL airfields and more than 20 of them have not seen flights for years, if not decades. Despite this, the government used an Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan to black top the runways and aprons of even disused airfields in the hope that some private airline would start flights.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241108041144_1fb1970d4e08476b5a6475dd5f7a3b5fef05c2ff83d05bec274c99bf82746206.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241108041144_1fb1970d4e08476b5a6475dd5f7a3b5fef05c2ff83d05bec274c99bf82746206" data-rendition-name="original" width="1778" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Airfields without airplanes NT"> <figcaption>Dipayal, Doti Photo: BASANT PRATAP SINGH/CIJ</figcaption> </figure>  Yet, more airfields are being built in Arghakhanchi, and Kamal Bazar of Achham under political pressure. Now that bulldozers have defaced Nepal’s mountains with badly engineered roads, local governments are on an airfield building spree without necessary homework on feasibility. Nepal Airlines has only two airworthy Twin Otters left, and private STOL airlines focus on tourist airfields like Lukla, Jomsom or Jufal for ‘dollar passengers’, and do not want to fly loss-making ‘rupee routes’. &nbsp; On the other hand, domestic air travel volume has shot up this year because the heavy monsoon damaged many highways. But most of the traffic increase has been on trunk routes between Kathmandu and Pokhara, Surkhet, and Tarai cities. This Dasain, Kathmandu airport saw a record 560 flights in one day, most of them by domestic carriers. The total domestic passenger volume in 2024 is expected to surpass 4 million. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241108041144_52512428a4516d344c6e0ef94e2c9e2c7491a38103646cf90d40efac6ea0add3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241108041144_52512428a4516d344c6e0ef94e2c9e2c7491a38103646cf90d40efac6ea0add3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Airfields without airplanes NT"> <figcaption>Jufal, Dolpo</figcaption> </figure>  Yet, many of the derelict airports have returned to being grazing grounds for goats and cattle. There is housing encroachment into some airfields like Palungtar in Gorkha, and roads slice across what used to be runways at other unused airfields. Yet, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) still allocated a budget for many of these airfields, including for air traffic controllers who have little to do. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Auditor General’s Report last year found that the state was losing Rs1 billion a year in the upkeep of abandoned airfields, or airports that were built recently but where there have been no flights after the fanfare of an inaugural landing. Yet there is public pressure on elected officials to build airfields just so they do not have to make long and tiring journeys by road. New airfields are therefore built without a proper business plan, and in the absence of guarantees from private airlines that they will fly there. A further incentive is the kickback local officials get from construction companies. A case in point is Dharan where mayor Harka Sampang is pushing for an airport for his city even though Biratnagar airport is only an hour drive away. He is quoted in the media as saying that airports are like toilets because “every home must have its own toilet … one can’t use a neighbour’s toilet”.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241108041148_806f0eede4834603b46969d28eef7f17bf59270796e880dca203ede2a42ccab6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241108041148_806f0eede4834603b46969d28eef7f17bf59270796e880dca203ede2a42ccab6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="723" loading="lazy" alt="Airfields without airplanes NT"> <figcaption>Simikot, Humla</figcaption> </figure>  New airports like Kotbada in Achham and Phalgundanda in Ilam, or upgraded ones like Baglung, Baitadi, Manang are inaugurated by ministers who fly in from Kathmandu to be garlanded on the tarmac, and then all is forgotten. The runway reverts to becoming a site for TikTok videos. Airport construction is becoming an epidemic. There are now seven old and new airfields in a 40km radius around Rumjatar: in Ramechhap, Khiji, Phaplu, Kangel, Lamidanda, Khanidanda and Bhojpur. Similarly, although Baitadi’s airfield has been blacktopped, a new airport is being proposed 12km away for Dadeldhura, the constituency of former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. A new airfield is being built at Kamal Bazar of Achham, even though it is only 20km from a functioning airport at Sanfe. Doti, which was an important airfield serving roadless neighbouring districts, was upgraded in 2016. But has never been used.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241108041144_5e4f2c8de2e5f1cb8cf68779349e8e98b34c1aa5c1cdb5fa3ad9b2eb8a533dde.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241108041144_5e4f2c8de2e5f1cb8cf68779349e8e98b34c1aa5c1cdb5fa3ad9b2eb8a533dde" data-rendition-name="original" width="2932" height="1368" loading="lazy" alt="Airfields without airplanes NT"> <figcaption>Rara, Mugu</figcaption> </figure>  A probe by the Centre for Investigative Journalism found that former Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Prem Ale allocated over Rs1.3 billion to blacktop grass runways and build new airports at 10 sites in the far west. Despite more and more new airports seeing no flights at all, there are at least 20 more in the pipeline: in Dang, Dhankuta, Humla, Piuthan, Tehrathum, Udaypur, Sindhuli, Kalikot and Mustang. It looks like every district now wants an airport as a status symbol, even if it has a non-functioning one already. Private airlines do not want to fly loss-making routes, but surprisingly they do not even serve airfields with vast tourism potential like Rara or Manang – especially when roads to those trekking destinations are so poor and dangerous.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241108041148_002b1612380bf8b17d9056c3e262ecce19fe39963a7b8ba5d9b20356dc4c9853.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241108041148_002b1612380bf8b17d9056c3e262ecce19fe39963a7b8ba5d9b20356dc4c9853" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="931" loading="lazy" alt="Airfields without airplanes NT"> <figcaption>Humde, Manang. Photo: SOCIAL MEDIA</figcaption> </figure>  Underused mountain airfields in Nepal are just an extension of the new international airports in Bhairawa and Pokhara which together cost more than $300 million to build with international loans, but have not seen regular international flights for nearly three years. The severely congested Kathmandu airport is the only one that actually makes money, but that is because it also has some of the highest landing and ground handling charges in the region. To summarise: passengers enduring shoddy service and delays at Kathmandu are paying to build airfields across Nepal that may never be used.

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Airfields without airplanes

<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Nepal’s newly-installed Prime Minister Balendra Shah</a> unveiled his Council of Ministers after taking the oath of office on Friday in Kathmandu.&nbsp; Besides Nepal's pre-existing problems, his team will immediately have to deal with the fallout of the West Asia conflict to satisfy an electorate impatient for change. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a majority in the 5 March election and capped the Cabinet size at 15. Shah, a structural engineer and musician, himself has taken charge of the Defence and Industry Ministries. There has been an attempt to make the Cabinet inclusive with women in five of the new portfolios.&nbsp; After much negotiation, the powerful Home Ministry, a bone of contention between Shah and RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane, has gone to Sudan Gurung, a hitherto little-known figure who <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/who-or-what-is-hami-nepal">rose to prominence after the September GenZ protest</a> and won the election from Gorkha-2.&nbsp; Gurung will be in charge of Nepal’s internal security apparatus and maintaining law and order. And with Gurung, a close ally of the Prime Minister, in charge, some note the Home Ministry will be a hook for Shah if Lamichhane, with his share of controversies, steps out line.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_c7725ea5fb9ffbf96df25a7b3122520b7ae3ee10548aed3f37781a7e5440e51a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260327090324_c7725ea5fb9ffbf96df25a7b3122520b7ae3ee10548aed3f37781a7e5440e51a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> </figure>  Notable RSP leaders, including vice-chair DP Aryal, were said to have been vying for the portfolio.&nbsp; Gurung is the founder of the non-profit Hami Nepal, which worked primarily in earthquake relief in 2015, and emerged onto the national stage during negotiations to appoint Sushila Karki as interim PM after the unrest. He was also involved in key negotiations that cemented Balendra Shah and Rabi Lamichhane’s political partnership in the runup to the election.&nbsp; Most new Cabinet members are not just first-time ministers, but are also freshmen lawmakers. Many are experts in their fields. Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle is an <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-to-rebrand-itself">economist </a>with degrees from the London School of Economics and Harvard, and was previously Chief Economic Advisor at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, and also served in Nepal’s National Planning Commission.&nbsp; Previously a member of Nepali Congress, Wagle exited the party in 2023 following differences with top leadership, and joined the RSP. Wagle won a by-election from Tanahu-1 in 2023 and won again from the same constituency in this month’s election.&nbsp; Shishir Khanal, who heads RSP’s foreign affairs department, has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. &nbsp;Khanal is co-founder of Teach For Nepal, was briefly Education Minister when the RSP was part of the the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led coalition government in 2023.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_b1a670bac12e2bf4df955134f58c8de7718d48f6be4e1f2df7c7c52f82e36e42.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260327090324_b1a670bac12e2bf4df955134f58c8de7718d48f6be4e1f2df7c7c52f82e36e42" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> </figure>  Law Minister Sobita Gautam is a lawyer by profession and worked in governance and public policy before she was elected as the youngest MP in the 2022 election.&nbsp; Health Minister Nisha Mehta is a nurse and became a lawmaker under the Proportional Representation system in this election which swept the RSP to power with a near two-third majority.&nbsp; Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel, a first-time MP elected from Kathmandu-5, served as an aide to Balendra Shah when he was mayor of Kathmandu and a was member of the KMC City Planning Commission.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_5ed794d7bf0cac2844277521810225c4355746b9c3f7369f70cacc878c94641f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260327090324_5ed794d7bf0cac2844277521810225c4355746b9c3f7369f70cacc878c94641f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> </figure>  Biraj Bhakta Shrestha is Energy Minister, and also served as the Minister for Youth and Sports in the Dahal-led coalition government in 2024. Before joining RSP, Shrestha was elected to the Bagmati Provincial Assembly in the 2017 elections representing the r<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/rsp-s-activist-dna">eformist Bibeksheel Sajha Party</a>. He will immediately face the challenge of addressing the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rough-road-ahead-for-new-nepal-rulers">impact of the West Asia war,</a> including rising petroleum prices and a shortage of cooking gas. Sita Badi, who was elected through the PR system, is Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens. She was born and brought up in the underserved and marginalised Badi community in Surkhet and has been advocating for the rights and welfare of women, children, and minority communities. Other ministers include RSP spokesperson Pratibha Rawal as Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration as well as Land Management, and Gita Chaudhary as Minister for Agriculture, Sunil Lamsal is Physical Infrastrucutre, Transport, and Urban Development Minister, Khadka Raj (Ganesh) Paudel as Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister. Dipak Sah is the Labour and Employment Minister, and Bikram Timilsina is Communication Minister.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_b67c2d199d4897031583a5b7ec7ce43e88771167696e6161665eeb5fca25d3ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260327090324_b67c2d199d4897031583a5b7ec7ce43e88771167696e6161665eeb5fca25d3ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> </figure>  Meanwhile, RSP vice-chair DP Aryal, who many thought would be home minister because of his proximity with Rabi Lamichhane has been proposed as Speaker of the House.&nbsp; Aryal previously served two brief stints as the Minister of Labour when RSP was part of the RSP’s coalition governments in 2023 and 2024. As minister Aryal came <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/skeletons-in-the-cabinet-k5x6py1v">under scrutiny </a>for his involvement in an employment agency that was investigated for illegal acquisition of wealth in 2020. If appointed House Speaker, Aryal will be expected to play a neutral and non-partisan role in Parliamentary affairs. &nbsp; With the full Cabinet announced on Friday, Prime Minister Shah and his team now have their work cut out for them. &nbsp;The government’s first priority will be ensuring the safety and long-term security of the almost two million <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/migrant-workers-in-wartime">Nepalis living and working in the Gulf</a> amid the ongoing conflict in the region, and taking steps to cushion Nepal’s economy from the Israel-US war on Iran. The new leaders will also be tasked with implementing the findings of the Karki Commission report on the September violence that paved the way for the election and the rise of the RSP. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_69b36bc62737e44ade4080be36688f9c2f92201356e1df2072cef8ecc6a9be5d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20260327090324_69b36bc62737e44ade4080be36688f9c2f92201356e1df2072cef8ecc6a9be5d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> <figcaption>Snapshots from PM Balen Shah's swearing-in ceremony</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_69b36bc62737e44ade4080be36688f9c2f92201356e1df2072cef8ecc6a9be5d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20260327090324_69b36bc62737e44ade4080be36688f9c2f92201356e1df2072cef8ecc6a9be5d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_8646d490883154f696bcdc6e2375084419f2eefaaf0ef0c7e2710aa6e2d94a8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20260327090324_8646d490883154f696bcdc6e2375084419f2eefaaf0ef0c7e2710aa6e2d94a8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260327090324_89d17d6584593be1eb23eb1d4872c3b7c600e1620f3aca48dbff4838364a1e3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20260327090324_89d17d6584593be1eb23eb1d4872c3b7c600e1620f3aca48dbff4838364a1e3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Balen Shah swearing in NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;Full list of ministers: Prime Minsiter: Balendra Shah Home Minister: Sudan Gurung Finance Minister: Swarnim Wagle Foreign Affairs Minister: Shishir Khanal Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry: Sobita Gautam Energy, Water and Irrigation Minister: Biraj Bhakta Shrestha Education Minister: Sasmit Pokharel Physical Infrastrucutre, Transport, and Urban Development Minister: Sunil Lamsal Communication and Information Ministry: Bikram Timilsina General Administration Minister: Pratibha Rawal Women, Children and Senior Citizens Minister: Sita Badi Health and Population Minister: Nisha Mehta Agriculture Minister: Gita Chaudhary Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister: Khadka Raj (Ganesh) Paudel&nbsp; Labour Minister: Dipak Sah

Nepal swears in new Cabinet

Next to my home in Bhainsepati stood a dead Uttis tree next to a public tap. A nearby water tank built a year earlier had killed its roots.
If the tree collapsed, people living nearby and those queuing up to fetch water at the tap would be hurt. With the storm season approaching, the risk was obvious. The tree could also fall on my own house, so I volunteered to find a way to remove this threat.
Little did I know how difficult it would be. A forest officer acquaintance told me there is a special procedure for cutting risky trees. I contacted the Lalitpur District Forest Office (DFO).&nbsp;
He said a technical report from a field officer was needed, and passed on her number. When I called, she asked for the location, photos, and a video. I send them all.
The ward office also suggested I use Lalitpur Metropolitan City’s mobile app, Lalitpur Alert, to report the problem. I uploaded photos, and submitted the complaint. This seemed to be very easy and efficient.
Indeed, the next day the municipality called me back and I explained the situation. They said they could not act without permission from the DFO. I asked why the app existed if the city could not act on such complaints. The officer said he did not know. My happiness was short-lived.
A couple of days later, the app notified me that my problem had been solved, and the complaint was removed. But the dead tree still stood there defiantly.&nbsp;
A week later, two forest technicians arrived on a scooter to inspect the tree. They looked up at the tree and asked if I had a measuring tape so they could measure its diameter.
“You are the technicians,” I told them. “You came to inspect the tree, and you came without a measuring tape?”
I rummaged at home and found a tape measure. They got the diameter and said they would prepare a technical report, but I would have to obtain a recommendation letter from the ward office and submit it to the DFO.
“This tree is dead,” I told them. “It is on public land. You have seen it with your own eyes. You know it's dangerous, so write a report and arrange for it to be cut. Why do I have to run from office to office to apply for recommendation letters?”
Their answer was simple, yet expected: “Those are the rules.”
They left, and I gave up. Two technicians spent half a day visiting the site. The metropolis runs a complaint system with a mobile app funded with public money. The ward office has staff to solve problems. Yet none of these institutions took the responsibility to remove a dangerous tree.
Everyone is busy citing rules and regulations and passing the buck. Weeks passed. Everyone reacted to the problem, but no one took any responsibility to resolving it.
Then, one bright December morning under a deep blue sky, a few neighbourhood boys were swinging their axes on the trunk. They had no proper equipment, no safety gear, and no professional experience.
I gave the boys some money and so did a neighbour. It took an hour or so for the tree to come crashing down safely. We had paid to have the tree cut illegally, and the matter ended there.
Multiple government offices, technicians, procedures, and mobile apps could not remove a dangerous tree, and we had to break the law to cut it. The tree is gone now, but the real problem remains: an inefficient bureaucracy.&nbsp;
It is perhaps symbolic that the tree is the election sign of the Nepali Congress, which was part of Nepal's governance and bureaucracy for decades and did not perform well in this month's election.&nbsp;
That is the bureaucracy that the new RSP government now has to get to work. But it will not be easy.
I posted on Facebook: ‘When people feel leaders have grown arrogant or corrupt with power, they change their minds and their votes. If those who replace them follow the same path, voters will again change their minds and votes.’
I continued: ‘The strength of democracy lies in this simple principle: the more citizens act as independent voters, the stronger democracy becomes. The more they behave as party loyalists, the weaker it grows. If we want a better system, we must demand deep reform of the state bureaucracy and hold institutions accountable.’&nbsp;
The first responses came from two senior government officials. They told me privately that they agreed by 200% but could not say so publicly.
It is quite normal for a Nepali to get the run around in government offices, it is almost a given to be asked for a bribe. As an environmental reporter and citizen, I have numerous such examples.
It is not just one sector that has been suffering. It is everywhere, and this is just an example of how complicated our bureaucracy is. As a 40 something person, I am old enough to remember the 1990 pro-democracy movement, &nbsp;the Maoist insurgency. Many promises made then by the politicians were broken.
We fought for rights, we fought for regime change. The country has changed political systems several times, from monarchy to multiparty democracy and finally a republic.
Yet one thing that remains largely untouched or reformed is our inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy. The new government, to be led by the youngest prime minister in our history must start this reform if it wants to deliver.&nbsp;
Otherwise, we may have to keep changing governments every few years, and still find ourselves unable to legally cut down even one dead tree.

A dead tree tests Nepal's bureaucracy

On Friday, Balendra Shah is taking his oath of office as Nepal's prime minister in a capital city of which he was a mayor till six months ago.
At 35, he will be among Nepal’s youngest prime ministers. His reticence and reclusiveness have reinforced his brand as a doer rather than a talker. This was a persona he cultivated as mayor of someone who cleaned up the city by managing garbage. But he also chased off sidewalk vendors in an effort to ‘beautify’ the city.&nbsp;
After being elected, Shah did not attend RSP events in official capacity, and he was absent at an MP orientation last week.&nbsp;
His refusal to engage with the press, and even stopping to post on social media, have added to the air of reclusiveness. But as prime minister, he may have to communicate more even if it just to stop conspiracy theories and intrigue.&nbsp;
The people he will now represent would like to know, and have a right to know, what he is up to. Otherwise the feeling will grow that Nepal is entering uncharted territory. Governance, the economy and investment do not like uncertainty.
Political scientist Pyakuryal notes that calling Balen a 'man of few words' may serve as a useful epithet if he governs with quiet efficiency rather than fanfare. "But as Prime Minister, he must engage the nation’s will, not simply manage from above," she says.
She adds: "The real test lies in his choice of style: will he lead exclusively, keeping decisions close, or inclusively, opening space for dialogue and shared ownership of governance?"
Nepal's newly-elected lawmakers were sworn in on Thursday. And once sworn in as PM on Friday, Balendra Shah is set to appoint a ‘minimalist’ Cabinet. Although the Constitution caps the size of the Council of Ministers at 25, the party has decided to stick to maximum 18 and not split ministries to accommodate loyalists as was done in the past.&nbsp;
&nbsp;"The Cabinet must support the leadership of the Prime Minister while ensuring accountability to the Parliament,” notes political scientist Sucheta Pyakuryal. “But the questions that come to mind are: will the RSP MPs readily submit to Balen’s leadership and is Balen’s absence from the party’s official events an unwillingness or hesitation to submit to the party?”
Prime Minister Sushila Karki and her ministers ended their interim tenures this week, and she was lauded for upholding her commitment to hold a free, fair and peaceful election. But her image was tarnished for her reluctance to release the investigation report on the September violence, as well as recommending her Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal for a National Assembly seat, and her personal secretary to the National Trust for Nature Conservation. President Ram Chandra Poudel has put Aryal’s nomination on hold. &nbsp;
The Investigation Commission report leaked on Wednesday said the state failed to stop the firing on protestors by Police on 8 September and blamed the Army for not preventing the arson next day. It recommended the prosecution of prime minister KP Oli, home minister Ramesh Lekhak, and Police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung.
Notable names said to be in consideration for the Cabinet include many who are experts in their fields, and RSP wants a young lawmaker as Speaker. The new government will plunge headlong into the economic fallout of the West Asia war.
RSP, with its near two-third majority, does not have to placate any coalition partner, so Nepal is at long last expected to have a stable government after 35 years. Despite hopes that there will not be the usual horse-trading this time, there is tension between supporters of RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane and Balendra Shah. The two have been negotiating in hotel rooms for Cabinet posts for loyalists.&nbsp;
Shah’s larger-than-life online persona and nationwide appeal delivered the RSP its overwhelming electoral victory this month, and this makes the party’s core leadership beholden to him. To what extent is Shah willing to meet Lamichhane’s demands is the critical question, and we will know the answer by this weekend.
Says Pyakuryal: “Because this election showcased personality politics rather than the regular party politics, the dangers of ego-clashes, power-tussles and intraparty realpolitik become very real and this kind of equation can greatly hamper the spirit of democracy, representation and collective good."

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Ball in Balen’s court

Nepal’s new government hit the ground running with the arrests of former Prime Minister K P Oli and home Minister Ramesh Lekhak early Saturday morning.&nbsp;
Their dramatic detentions followed an inquiry commission report recommending that Lekhak, Oli, and former Police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung be investigated and prosecuted for negligence in failing to stop the killing of 19 young protesters by security forces during the protests on 8 September.&nbsp;
Interim PM Sushila Karki’s government faced considerable criticism from GenZ activists at the end of her 7-month tenure for failing to release the report and hold the previous UML-NC coalition to account.&nbsp;
Karki had left any decision on the report’s findings to new RSP government, but her government released it after the content was leaked earlier this week, a day before Nepal’s newly elected lawmakers took their oath of office.
By making the arrests of Oli and Lekhak as its first order of business, the new government, and especially Home Minister Sudan Gurung and Prime Minister Balendra Shah, have tried to show that they are decisive and mean business.&nbsp;
It has been hailed by many as signalling that Nepal’s new and young leadership will back up its pledges with action. However, others including the UML and some constitutional experts, say that the arrests have not followed legal procedures. The UML has mobilised its affiliated groups to start nationwide street protests.&nbsp;
The main divide seems to be over the perception that the new government is only interested in justice for the perpetrators of the 8 September Parliament massacre, and not against those who organised arson and vandalism of government buildings, homes of politicians, businesses and the media the next day.&nbsp;
While some celebrate what they see as the beginning of justice for the victims and survivors of the September violence, political analysts and legal experts express alarm over a lack of adherence to the rule of law.&nbsp;
K P Oli has a lot of experience being behind bars. He was jailed a dozen times in 1970s by the Panchayat regime for his extreme left activism and then spent 14 years in prison between 1974-1988.
Critics argue that the former leaders were denied due process and label their arrest a “political vendetta."
RSP supporters had made similar arguments in October 2024 and April 2025 that the arrest of party chair Rabi Lamichhane over misappropriation of funds from numerous cooperatives were &nbsp;politically motivated.
‘What is happening is unacceptable,’ wrote former minister and diplomat Nilamber Acharya wrote on Saturday morning. ‘Such acts of revenge and crackdowns do not bode well.’
In response to accusations of the arrests being partisan and politically-motivated, Home Minister Sudan Gurung took to social media, saying that the new government is fulfilling its promises: ‘No one is above the law,’ he wrote. ‘This is not revenge, it is the beginning of justice. I believe now that the nation will now take a new direction.’
There is also concern the new leadership has jumped the gun to implement the findings of the inquiry commission, which has itself been criticised in some quarters for concentrating on the events of 8 September rather than investigating the perpetrators of the anarchy on 9 September.&nbsp;
The first meeting of the Council of Ministers made the immediate implementation of the GenZ Movement Inquiry Report its first priority.
But there are questions as to whether the execution of the report will be impartial. Home Minister Gurung will now dictate how the recommendations &nbsp;will be conducted, since he is himself referenced in the report in connection with the unrest on 9 September.&nbsp;
In fact, the report also outlines how supporters stormed Nakhu Prison on 9 September to organise Rabi Lamichhane’s jailbreak. Will Minister Gurung also go after his own party's leadership? &nbsp;
With the UML already calling for nationwide protests against the detention of its leaders, there is concern that Nepal is plunging straight into turmoil instead of stability.
The UML leadership has been unrepentant about the 8 September events. Oli has defiantly blamed infiltration and outside forces for the killings, and unlike the Nepali Congress the UML has not managed its own leadership changeover.&nbsp;
The NC under Gagan Thapa as well as the Nepali Communist Party of Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal have so far been silent about the detentions even though former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak is from the NC.
Oli and Lekhak’s arrests will now be challenged in the courts. But their detention also signals to Nepal’s political old guard that the tables have turned: legacy leaders cannot be complacent and assume they will disappear from national consciousness for past deeds without being held accountable for what happened during their watch.
The RSP government under Prime Minister Balendra Shah seems determined not to let bygones be bygones. But while that is all and well, it remains to be see whether the party can deliver on the need of the electorate for tangible governance reform.
The danger is that the new rulers may be defined by the same tactics of political revenge as its predecessors in the name of meting out justice.

stol-airfields

Keeping pilots flying to remote areas

Airfields without airplanes

Nepal swears in new Cabinet

A dead tree tests Nepal's bureaucracy

Ball in Balen’s court

New Nepal government signals action