Nepal’s federal parliament is set to resume sessions this week after a two-week recess, but lawmakers will return with a limited legislative agenda. The House of Representatives is scheduled to meet on Thursday, followed by the National Assembly on Friday. However, legislative activity in both chambers is expected to be minimal, with only eight bills currently under consideration in the lower house and none pending in the upper house.

The parliament adjourned on July 15 after approving the national budget for the fiscal year beginning mid-July. Speaker DP Aryal and National Assembly Chairman Narayan Dahal had announced the recess, citing the need for lawmakers to visit their constituencies. Opposition parties, however, contend that the break was largely due to the government’s failure to prepare and submit enough bills for legislative deliberation, effectively suspending parliamentary work.

According to the Parliament Secretariat, four bills remain actively under review in the 275-member House of Representatives. These include the Nepal Rastra Bank Act (Third Amendment) Bill in the Finance Committee, the Nepal Special Service Act (Revival) Bill and the Rastriya Sewa Dal (National Cadet Corps) Bill in the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, as well as a bill to amend and repeal select financial laws awaiting discussion on the House floor. Another four bills, passed by the National Assembly, are under committee review in the lower house, including the National Forensic Science Laboratory Bill and the Film Bill with the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee, and the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Protection) Bill alongside the Tourism Bill with the International Relations and Tourism Committee.

The 59-member National Assembly currently has no legislation or government business scheduled for discussion on its upcoming session, having cleared all previously received bills and forwarded them to the lower house.

Opposition leaders have criticised the government’s handling of parliamentary business. Basana Thapa, chief whip of the main opposition Nepali Congress, described the government’s failure to provide enough legislative proposals as a clear weakness. She rejected the official rationale that the recess was solely for constituency work, arguing that parliament was effectively stalled because the cabinet had no bills ready. Thapa also cautioned against rushing legislation without adequate debate, citing recent cases involving laws on education and health taxes that faced public backlash and had to be repealed.

Yubaraj Dulal, chief whip of the opposition Nepali Communist Party, emphasized that the government would face embarrassment if it failed to submit new bills before the House reconvened. He said the law minister had assured the Business Advisory Committee that sufficient bills would be registered to keep parliament busy through September.

Officials from the Parliament Secretariat acknowledged the limited volume of active legislation but noted that parliamentary business is not entirely absent. Ekram Giri, spokesperson and head of the House’s Business Management Division, stated that, aside from the eight bills, four non-legislative motions—including two urgent motions on matters of public importance and two resolution motions—have been forwarded to relevant ministries for consideration. He also indicated expectations for additional bills to be registered before sessions begin, with ongoing coordination between the government and ministries.

The government has defended its legislative preparations, with Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam assuring that a number of bills are in the pipeline and will be introduced soon. Gautam explained that delays in bill registration resulted from the government’s immediate focus on passing the national budget after taking office. She stated that between eight and ten bills would be registered in both houses ahead of the upcoming meetings and highlighted an ambitious target of passing 166 bills during the current fiscal year. The government has already submitted a priority list of legislation to Speaker Aryal and National Assembly Chairperson Dahal and plans to register bills simultaneously in both chambers to maintain a steady flow of legislative work.

Ultimately, the government’s ability to meet its legislative goals will depend on how swiftly ministries can prepare and submit new bills amid a parliamentary session with a currently sparse workload.