Kathmandu. Minister for Science,Technology and Innovation Mahabir Pun has pledged to set up a national forensic science lab in all provinces. He said this during the clause-wise discussion on the bill at the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee. 

He said that there are currently four branches in operation and the branches will be expanded in the remaining provinces.He has made it clear that the goal is to open at least two new branches of within this year. 

Minister Pun stressed that the branches should not only be expanded but also the offices should be fully equipped with modern equipment.Sharing his experience that although hospitals were established at different local levels in the past, problems were seen in operation due to lack of required human resources and equipment, he said such situation should not be repeated in the laboratory sections. 

Similarly, Minister Pun said that the branch will not be opened immediately at the local level.According to him, since the branches of the National Forensic Science Laboratory are operated under the central government, there is a possibility of local interest and disputes. According to him, unnecessary disputes could arise on the basis of the provision of branch operation at the local level in the bill.

‘As for opening this branch office, there are already four of them. Now we have to add two and that too. I’m saying it’s going to be added this year. “It means that up to two of them should be built within this year and should be and ,” Minister Pun said. Well Equipped What if the government opens branches, there should be nothing in the branch. ’ 

Similarly, Minister Pun said that the National Forensic Science Laboratory would be autonomous instead of ‘autonomous’.He said that although there is a provision for autonomous in the Universities Act of Nepal, in practice, these institutions couldnot be fully autonomous due to the financial dependence of the government. According to him, the exercise of autonomy would not be effective as the government controls the institutions receiving budget from the government. According to him, it would not be appropriate to call the laboratory autonomous as it does not earn its own income and depends on the government’s budget for its operation. 

He clarified that although the laboratory is under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry will only play a policy and coordinating role and not direct governance.He said that unless an organization is financially self-reliant, it has no practical meaning even if it is autonomous. He argues that the private sector can be called fully autonomous only if it has a forensic laboratory that can be operated with its own investment, operation and income.