The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration sent the matter to Bagmati Province’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Labour and Transport on 2083/04/19, following correspondence from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. The petition, submitted by Rajan Kumar Shrestha of Upatyaka Sarwajanik Yatayat Pvt. Ltd., asks the government to ensure compliance with what it describes as repeated Patan High Court mandamus orders requiring implementation of the National Taxi Standard. The petitioner argues that national transport policy and standards fall within the federal government’s constitutional jurisdiction and should be implemented by provincial authorities.
The petition accuses the Bagmati government of a “double standard,” arguing that it follows federal directives concerning driver-licence health examination fees but has not similarly implemented the national taxi requirements. It calls for immediate application of the standard to operating and newly registered taxis in Bagmati, including GPS tracking for passenger safety, mandatory digital logging/billing systems and prescribed vehicle/engine standards. It also asks the federal transport ministry to seek an explanation from Bagmati within 24 hours, issue binding implementation instructions and strengthen monitoring. The petitioner further argues that enforcement would reduce syndicate or monopoly practices and promote transparent fares and fair competition.
The attached documents also include Bagmati Province Transport Minister Jayaram Thapa’s explanation of the separate driver-licence health-check policy. He states that the province revised the system after concerns over earlier arrangements, formed a recommendation committee and fixed the health examination charge at Rs 175 through a provincial Cabinet decision. His letter also disputes criticism made in the federal Parliament and argues that provincial responsibilities should be handled through the constitutional federal structure. These are the minister’s stated positions in the correspondence, not independent findings of the document.
The transport company gives Bagmati Province 15 days from receipt of its letter to publicly announce an official implementation plan for the National Taxi Standard, or for the federal government to take what it considers effective binding action. Failing that, it says it may seek legal remedy through a Public Interest Litigation at the Supreme Court under Article 133 and pursue peaceful street-based protest programmes. The federal ministry’s own role in this document is primarily to forward the petition to the provincial authority for necessary information and action.
