King Gyanendra issued an ordinance to increase the expenditures of the royal palace for the fourth time on Tuesday. The Royal Palace Expenditure Management Act 2031 was amended and the right was granted to increase expenditure as desired. The palace purse has already been plumped up by millions of rupees.

After the ordinance was first issued in November 2003, the palace funds were increased from Rs 110 million to Rs 620 million. Sources at the Council of Ministers told us that a total of Rs 930 million was sent to the palace in a year-and-a-half, but no data is available.

Senior advocate Krishna Prasad Bhandari said this move was an error, especially in the light of the five-party anti-'regression' movement. "Issuing an ordinance time and again is simply too much," added Bhandari. Harihar Dahal, former president of Nepal Bar Association said that the issuing of four consecutive self-benefitting ordinances by the king was "disgraceful".

According to provisions in Section 72 of the 1991 Constitution, any ordinance not approved by the House of Representatives within six months is automatically void. (Nepalnews.com)