The Lumbini State Committee of the Community Forest Users Federation, which has been protesting since Sunday demanding cancellation of taxes on community forests, has suspended the protest since Tuesday.
Kalpana Bhandari, president of Federation of Lumbini Province, said that the Lumbini Province government is prepared to suspend the agitation and go to negotiations after sending a letter calling for talks.
The federation staged a dharna at the main gate of the Lumbini state government on Sunday and Monday.
The provincial government formed a five-member high-level negotiation committee on Sunday with the Chairman of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment Committee of Lumbini Provincial Assembly Vishwaprem Pathak as coordinator.
The members of the negotiation committee are Arjun Kumar KC, member of the Lumbini State Assembly, Ishwarraj Paudel, Secretary of the Chief Minister and Cabinet Office, Dilaram Panthi, Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, and Mohanraj Kafle, Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment as member secretary.
The Forest Federation has also formed a five-member negotiation committee under the chairmanship of Lumbini Province President Bhandari. The members of the committee are state vice president Humnath Bhajrai, Dang district president Hariprasad Bhusal, Rupandehi president Shyamkala Acharya and Rolpa district president Mansingh Dangi.
After the state government imposed a tax of 10 percent on the sale of wood within the community forest group and 25 percent on sale outside, the forest federation started a protest demanding the abolition of the tax.
