KATHMANDU – The Supreme Court has stayed a government decision to open up the agricultural sector for foreign investment.
In response to a writ petition filed by lawyer Dr Punya Prasad Khatiwada challenging the government’s recent decision to revise the negative list for the forein investment by amending the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2019 (FITTA), a single bench of Supreme Court judge Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma today issued an interim order blocking the government from implementing its decision immediately.
The apex court also asked the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to furnish a written clarification within 15 days on why the foreign direct investment was opened in the agriculture sector.
Earlier in December last year, the cabinet meeting had decided to amend the negative list in the FITTA to allow the foreign direct investment in the agriculture sector.
The government move to pave the way for foreign investors to make investment in the agriculture sector has drawn mixed reactions.
While farmers as well as business organizations have criticized the government’s move claiming that allowing foreign investment in the agriculture sector would harm domestic industries and farmers, others say that the conditional opening would boost production, reduce ballooning trade deficit and bring foreign capital and technology into the country.
