A discussion held on Monday between Prime Minister Sushila Karki, Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal, Energy Minister Kulman Ghising, Industry, Commerce and Supplies Minister Anil Sinha, Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, concerned secretaries and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Chandra Prasad Dhakal has put forward a middle-ground proposal to resolve the dedicated and trunk line dispute.

It has been agreed that the disconnected power line will be reconnected immediately after paying an amount equivalent to one of the 28 installments provided by the Nepal Electricity Authority as a deposit, not an 'installment' but a 'disputed amount'. Arrangements have been made to ensure that the industrialists have the opportunity to go for review and seek other legal remedies on the basis of paying the deposit. However, the industrialists have said that they will not accept the agreement made without involving the aggrieved party. 'We do not accept the agreement made without involving us,' said an industrialist whose line was disconnected in the arrears dispute, 'There has been no agreement from our side, we do not accept it.'

Federation President Dhakal claimed that the agreement was reached after continuous discussions with industrialists, the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, the Energy Minister, the Industry Minister and everyone else on Sunday and Monday. "On Sunday, we met with the Prime Minister, Finance Minister Khanal and other high-ranking officials and took the initiative. After that, the concerned industrialists were called to the federation for further discussions," he said. "On Monday, we also had discussions with the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Energy Minister. After discussions and negotiations, we reached an agreement at the initiative of the federation," Dhakal said. Dhakal said that an agreement was reached in favor of the industrialists on the dedicated and trunk line arrears.

"It was agreed that one of the 28 installments of the disputed amount will be deposited with the authority as a deposit and the authority will connect the line. That amount will not be an installment but a deposit," Dhakal said. "After the disconnected industries have their lines connected, they will be able to go through judicial processes including administrative review and appeal."

Earlier, 5 percent of the arrears had to be paid when going for administrative review, but now, Dhakal said that a deposit of less than 5 percent will suffice when going for review. "When going for review, now you can pay a deposit in one installment, you had to pay 5 percent of the outstanding amount first," he said, "That is why the decision has been made in favor of the industrialists. Many industrialists accept this agreement."

The Authority had disconnected the electricity of 25 industries on 4 and 7 Kartik for not paying the premium fee for using dedicated and trunk lines. The Authority had reconnected two of them after paying the first installment of the 28 outstanding installments. Similarly, the Authority has stated that Butwal Cement and Everest Paper Mills had been completely closed even before the electricity was cut. Shankar Group Vice President Sulabh Agrawal also said that they would not accept the agreement reached with the government.

"We had not given the federation a mandate to reach an agreement with the government regarding dedicated and trunk lines," Agrawal said, "He (Chandra Dhakal) has no mandate. This agreement with the government was against the industrialists. We had a discussion yesterday. We had gone for review by providing a 5 percent bank guarantee. We are ready to pay it in cash. But he has talked about installments.’