The High Level Committee report of 2003 brought  to the forefront 45 cases involving influential people and hundreds of acres of grabbed land in Thimphu. However, an investigation by The Bhutanese has shown that no serious action has been taken against the land officials, Dzongdas and Drangpons involved. This paper …

National Land Commission (NLC) is in the process of revising the land tax rates in both rural and urban areas with the aim of generating revenue, preventing speculation over land, and also concentration of land holdings in a few hands. The rates are yet to be finalized and will have …

Article 7 Section 23 of the Constitution states that every Bhutanese shall have the right to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) if it fulfills the criteria required by the court but according to an eminent judicial expert from the Thimphu district court there are no specific legal provisions relating …

Seven registered companies in the country were dissolved with effect from February 1, 2012 after they failed to comply with ‘The Companies Act 2007’ and operational rules. These companies had registered with the Company Registry Division (CRD), under Department of Industry, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA). The companies dissolved are …

On 16th March, 2012 I submitted the draft bill on Right to Information to the Honorable Chairperson of the National Council with the objective of fulfilling a constitutional provision articulated under article 7 which states right to information as a fundamental right of every Bhutanese citizen. While the constitution provides …

The Bhutanese managed to get hold of a classified study that the health ministry (MoH) conducted on 116 People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) above 18 years and above between April to May, 2011. Sources said that the results of the survey will be made public once the ministry receives funds. …

Although Bhutan lies on a high seismic zone there is yet to be a concrete policy on retrofitting. This has resulted in many existing buildings being unsafe for habitation. Jojo’s building in Thimphu was the only building which was retrofitted with the help of Bhutan standard bureau (BSB), then called …

Two introductions in the construction sector – the new point based system (NPBS) evaluation for contractors and modified contractor classification system aim to generate more employment opportunities in the industry while laying the field for fairer play. As of   February 1, there was 209% increase in employment in construction industry …

Undercutting is being practiced widely in the tourism industry with tour operators offering their clients cheaper rates than the fixed tourist tariff of USD 250 per head during peak season and USD 200 per head during off season. Tour operators are supposed to offer only 10% discount which means that …

Chhoden lower secondary school recently initiated a “green” move which saw the use of ballpoint pens replaced by fountain or ink pens. The man behind the move was a teacher, Rinchen Phuntsho, who on 24 March, 2012 made a presentation ‘zero plastic guilt-free writing’ on the history of ball pens …