A meeting of the council of ministers on Monday decided to declare late Nabaraj Bista, a civil engineer killed by insurgents in Siraha a few days ago, a martyr.

Bista, a resident of Lalitpur district who was posted in Udaypur, was shot dead following his abduction by the cadres of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha in Siraha. He was on a field visit to Siraha from where he was picked up by JTMM men.

The cabinet meeting also decided to construct 1,000 housing blocks in the seven cantonments of the People’s Liberation Army. The cabinet has allocated Rs 120,000 for the construction of each block that will accommodate 15 combatants.

A committee including representatives from the Nepali Army, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and Ministry of Local Development will be constituted to look after the construction of the camps.

Similarly, the cabinet also approved the decision taken by ministerial-level camp management coordination panel Sunday evening to provide Rs 3,000 monthly to each PLA member after their verification completes.