It’s the MRP pound of flesh.. - Indian firm seeks US$ 48,000 as compensation ANIL GIRI KATHMANDU, DEC 05 - India’s state-owned Security Printing and Minting Corporation India Limited (SPMCIL) has approached the Government of Nepal for the reimbursement of expenses it incurred following the botched Machine Readable Passport (MRP) deal signed between the two countries. The Corporation claims it lost US$ 48,000.  The MRP deal was signed on March 25 but cancelled on April 11 following protests from various sections. “We have received two letters from the Indian side seeking the imbursement of expenses incurred by SPMCIL after the signing of the letter of exchange between Foreign Secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood on March 25,” a foreign ministry official said. Officials at the Indian Embassy also confirmed the request was made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) but declined to divulge details. The first letter was received two months ago after Nepal signed the MRP deal with French firm, Oberthur Technologies. Later, it was dispatched to the Ministry of Finance. The Indian claim had been lying unanswered for the last two months. But last week, the Indian side made a  fresh request to MoFA to release the money immediately. After receiving the Indian claim, the Ministry of Finance sought details of the agreement and expenses claimed by the Indian undertaking as to whether these  are genuine or not. “No decision has been taken yet,” said a Finance Ministry official. “It was a State-to-State business deal which cannot go unpaid. However, we need to verify the bills and the claim made by SPMCIL.” “The arrangements with Nepal would have let SPMCIL issue MRPs by early June 2010. To ensure this, SPMCIL and the Government of India had initiated action,” an April 23 statement issued by the Indian Embassy said. The Indian side has claimed that it began the procurement of paper, ink and other logistic tools from the  international market after the deal to meet the deadline to supply MRPs. The claim includes the hospitality provided to Nepali officials during their study tour of SPMCIL and New Delhi after the deal clinched. A team led by then Chief of Protocol Mohan Krishna Shrestha and other MoFA officials had visited India shortly after the MRP deal was signed. Issue begins Dec 19 KATHMANDU: The MoFA is all set to issue the first batch of MRPs by Dec. 19, beginning with diplomatic passports. For the public, the ministry will start collecting forms from Dec. 15 and will start the MRP issue on Dec. 24. The new arrangement has made acquiring passport more costlier and lengthier. (PR) Posted on: 2010-12-05 08:51 Source: EKantipur.com Last edited: 04-Dec-10 09:45 PM