The debt-ridden government publication house Sajha Prakashan on Wednesday came up with a 26-point work plan for its revival.

The two-year plan that comes into implementation from Thursday aims at making the publication self sustainable by optimum use of its capacity and selling off the books it has in stocks. 

Under the revival plan, Sajha will be organising several book exhibitions both in the country and abroad within four months. The publication house has books worth Rs 220 million in stocks which it intends to sell through the exhibitions. Out of the total Rs400 million loan, Sajha has paid off Rs300 with the budget allocated by the government. 

Following a directive from Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal last month, the Finance Ministry had released Rs 300 million—Rs100 million in grant and Rs200 million in loan. Sajha also plans to print and distribute school text books in the academic year 2017/18 and is, under cooperation from the Education Ministry, working for a separate accounting arrangement with Janak Shiksha Samagri Kendra Ltd. 

Its accounts have not been audited for over a decade and the printing machines have been idle for two years. 

Sajha has mentioned in the work plan that it would bring in a new software to complete the auditing in time. It also promises to pay Rs280 million in severance packages to 172 retired staff within a year. There are currently 83 staff on its payroll. It has also assured to clear Rs15 million royalty due to various writers by the 2017/18 fiscal.

Staffers’ affiliation to political parties is one of the factors responsible for Sajha’s present state, Chairperson and General Manager Dolindra Prasad Sharma pointed out. “No staff in the house are beyond political affiliation or political recruitment,” he said, announcing that he is introducing a new recruitment policy with a provision that bars the employees from indulging in political activities at workplace. 

Krishna Hari Baral, a member of the management committee, echoed Sharma in blaming the political recruitments for the lack of progress at Sajha Prakashan.  

Sharma also said that he would make public the names of the persons who had obstructed the progress of Sajha Prakashan by mid-April. 

Presenting the work plan on financial, legal, strategic and organisational fronts of the publication house for the next two years, Sharma said the PM had assured them of an additional Rs300 million for its execution.

“We still have three tonnes of unused paper in the warehouse. If we repair three broken machines, we could print 6,000 books a day,” he said.