Mayor and deputy mayor suspended, three municipalities leaderless

Recently, the head and deputy head of Lalitpur's Godavari, Sarlahi's Wagmati and Mahottari's Jaleshwar municipalities have been suspended on corruption charges. After they were suspended, there was a tussle among the rest of the people's representatives regarding the appointment of the caretaker.

The Abuse of Authority Investigation Commission had filed a corruption case against 14 people including Godavari Mayor Gajendra Maharjan and Deputy Mayor Muna Adhikari in the special court on May 21 for misappropriating revenue from the sale of mining and mineral products. Since then, both the mayor and the deputy mayor have been suspended.

The executive meeting held after the suspension has not been able to decide on whether to give the acting chairman to the senior ward president, pass it by majority vote or what to do. The day after the case was filed, Man Bahadur Khadka, the chief administrative officer of the municipality, wrote a letter to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and requested them to clear the knot. The notice of the letter has also been given to the Election Commission.

'In connection with the natural resource income contracts in previous fiscal years from the Abuse of Power Investigation Commission, a case has been filed against the city head and deputy head in a special court and they have to be suspended, so the Acting Mayor and Deputy Head have to bear the responsibility of the city head and deputy head provided by the Constitution, Local Government Operation Act, 2074 and other prevailing laws. There is no clear provision in the law to assign responsibilities and in case of ambiguity, it is requested to send a clear clarification on whether or not the daily work and municipal assembly can be conducted,' said the letter.

Sarlahi's Wagmati and Mahottari's Jaleshwar are also confused about who will get the caretaker. Wagmati Mayor Bharat Bahadur Thapa and Deputy Mayor Leela Kumari Moktan are under suspension for corruption charges.

The authority had filed a case against Thapa on charges of illegal wealth acquisition this March. After Thapa was suspended, Deputy Mayor Moktan was acting as acting city chief. However, on May 29, the authority filed a corruption case in a special court against six people, including the suspended city chief Thapa and deputy chief Moktan, for the crime of damaging public property, and the city has become leaderless.

In Mahottari's Jaleshwar municipality, the authority filed a case on May 27 against 11 people, including mayor Suresh Sah Sonar and deputy mayor Raushan Khatun, on the charge of corruption by doing substandard work on the slope in Hatbazar area. In the Local Government Operation Act, 2074, there is no clear provision on who will be given the responsibility if the post of mayor and deputy mayor or both are vacant for any reason.

Due to not being able to appoint a caretaker on time, it has become a problem to prepare the annual plan and budget for the next financial year and hold the meeting of the subject committee. According to Khadka, Chief Administrative Officer of Lalitpur's Godavari Municipality, there is a constitutional provision that the financial and appropriation bill must be submitted to the committee by June 10. "However, now there is a problem even in doing daily work," he said.

Harilal Puri, chief administrative officer of Bagmati in Sarlahi, also said that he has requested the Ministry of General Administration to resolve this problem soon. Nitesh Chaudhary, information officer of Jaleshwar Municipality of Mahottari, said that there is a problem in appointing the caretaker as no suggestion has been received from the Ministry of General Administration. "There is also a problem with the payment of the scheme," he said. Likewise, Godavari spokesperson Milan Silwal said that he is waiting for the opinion of the General Administration Ministry.

Jaleshwar-4 Ward President Harishchandra Mahato and Godavari spokesperson Silwal said that the law does not allow the majority or the senior ward president to be appointed as caretaker. Secretary of Federal Affairs and General Administration Ministry Mukunda Prasad Niraula said that there is no clear legal provision on whether or not acting officials can be appointed. "Therefore, we are preparing to write to the attorney general's office for suggestions," he said, "we will find a solution soon." Joint Secretary of the Election Commission, Raghuram Bista, said that since the local government is an autonomous body, the decision should be taken from the executive board meeting.