Kathmandu [Nepal], October 27 : The Karnali provincial government which initially planned on December 9, 2019, to construct a unified administrative building at Birendranagar is still waiting for land allotment.
A detailed project report (DPR) outlined the building's design, but the plan stalled due to federal authorities denying permission for land use at the proposed site, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Efforts by successive Karnali chief ministers, including Mahendra Bahadur Shahi, Jivan Bahadur Shahi, and Raj Kumar Sharma, to gain federal approval through visits to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Federal Ministry of Urban Planning yielded no progress.
Former Chief Minister Sharma expressed frustration, stating that the Ministry of Urban Planning had not granted the necessary land. "I visited the Ministry of Urban Planning in Kathmandu and the officials there pledged to take the decision but they are yet to do so," he said. "If they cannot allow the provincial government even to build an administrative building, hoping it would devolve other rights to the provinces would be unrealistic."
Budget allocations set aside by consecutive provincial governments remain unspent due to the federal government's reluctance to address provincial concerns.
Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel noted that while the federal and local governments have authority over land use, the provincial governments lack this power. "So our province hasn't been able to make a building. This illustrates the centre's apathy towards the provinces," he said.
Beyond infrastructure issues, provincial authorities face difficulties coordinating with chief district officers, complicating law enforcement, road safety management, and crime control due to the absence of specific laws enabling police mobilisation at the provincial level, reported the Kathmandu Post.
"Provincial governments have failed to carry out their duties due to the centralised mindset of leaders in Kathmandu," said Naresh Bhandari, a former provincial minister for law. "It is high time people in provinces fought for the rights of the sub-national governments so that the provincial authorities can do some valuable work for people's benefit." He argued that provincial governments need their own police forces and administrative staff to function effectively.
Provinces also lack their civil servants, relying on secretaries from the federal government to head provincial ministries. According to several provincial leaders, these federal appointees often lack accountability to the provincial authorities, complicating efficient governance.
Dipendra Rokaya, a former planning commission member in the province, explained that the commission faces difficulties in crafting policies suited to local needs due to dependence on federal agencies.
Nepal's constitution delineates exclusive rights for federal, provincial, and local governments, along with concurrent rights lists. However, an official from the Karnali Planning Commission noted, "Those in Kathmandu are reluctant to allow the provinces to use their exclusive rights," the Kathmandu Post reported.
Prachanda Pokharel, a lecturer at Mid-West University, commented that the federal system is weakened by the central government's restrictions on provincial constitutional rights. "The centralised mindset of the leaders has weakened the provinces. Leaders in Kathmandu haven't even formulated the laws necessary to implement the federal system," he said. "What kind of federal system are we practising whereby the minister for internal affairs and law can't even mobilise the police and chief district officers of their province?"
Echoing similar sentiments, former Chief Minister Sharma expressed that the people now question the provinces' effectiveness, given their lack of progress. "But how can we perform when our hands are tied?" he asked.
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