The government has proposed a key change in the Press and Publications Act that will give government officials the power to close down publications.

The amendment, introduced by Minister of Information and Communication Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta, contains provisions that countries like Malaysia use to control the press. It seeks to fix the validity of a publication\'s registration at two years, and require newspapers to renew their license.

If it becomes law. the new regulation will grant the Chief District Officer (CDO) authority to renew registration and also to cancel the licences of publications that do not comply with the rules. The CDO would also have power to annul registrations if publications do not begin publishing within six months of receiving permission.

The government defends the proposed change saying publishers are squatting on registrations without publishing, ana also argues that the law would enable proper and updated record-Keeping,But opposition legislator Raghu Pant sees a more sinister design "The proposed low is draconian but comes masked as a general administrative requirement." The former journalist and CPN (UML) MP has registered amendments seeking to reduce the discretionary authority of the CDO. and to make renewals more flexible.

The Federation of Nepalese Journalists has stated that the proposed changes are objectionable, and that the provisions should instead would allow new publications a year to begin publishing and only after five years of non publishing should a paper be considered dead.