The Gandaki Provincial Government has requested the federal government not to cut the grants received by the local and provincial governments.

The Provincial Coordination Council has made this demand, saying that the Genji movement of 23 and 24 Bhadra has increased pressure on public resource management. The ninth meeting of the council held in Pokhara on Thursday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey has decided to request the federal government through the Ministry of Finance not to cut the grants received by the local and provincial governments and the projects and budgets operated by them. 

The meeting has decided to immediately start the maintenance and service delivery of the structures damaged by the movement of 23 and 24 Bhadra and bring them into working condition, operate projects that increase income, create employment opportunities, and cut unproductive expenses while operating the projects.

The provincial government has adopted a policy of managing the reconstruction from current expenses. Chief Minister Pandey said that at least Rs 1 billion will be spent on reconstruction by reducing the amount allocated for facilities, allowances, seminars, symposiums, and visits. Stating that the damage caused during the movement is 'unheard of and unforeseeable,' he said that the development budget for reconstruction will not be touched. "There have been many such big movements in Nepal, but there has never been such a level of destruction," he said. Chief Minister Pandey informed that the province has allocated Rs 1.5 million each to the District Coordination Committees of Kaski and Tanahun, Rs 3 million to the District Administration Office of Kaski, Rs 2 million to the District Police Office of Kaski, and Rs 2.5 million to the High Court of Pokhara, Kaski, and Tanahun District Courts for reconstruction. The meeting also decided to review the damage to government offices in Gandaki Province from the 23rd and 24th Bhadra agitations and take initiatives to reconstruct the damaged public property as soon as possible and move forward with the necessary service delivery. After observing the damage caused to various districts and offices, he proposed to preserve the burnt buildings, collapsed structures, and burnt government vehicles as study materials for the future. "Such records will be useful for studying the political history of Nepal," he said. However, he said that it was not easy to preserve the burnt vehicles due to the legal constraints of the insurance company. "Insurance payments are not made until a burnt vehicle is auctioned, so it is difficult to preserve it like a museum," he explained.

Old decisions not implemented

The meeting sharply criticized the federal government and decided to request again to immediately implement the decisions that have not been implemented in the past.

The meeting concluded that the federal government is not serious about the issues of lawmaking, transfer of authority, and resource management that are essential for the effective implementation of federalism. The meeting also decided to send a request again to the National Coordination Council for the immediate implementation of all decisions made by the Provincial Coordination Council.

Despite repeated requests through the National Coordination Council and the Development Problem Resolution Committee to transfer ownership of land owned by the Government of Nepal but being used by the provincial and local levels, complaints were made in the meeting that it has not been heard so far. The meeting decided to request that a law be immediately formulated as the lack of land of the provincial and local levels has created serious obstacles in service delivery and local development.  

The meeting decided to request the Government of Nepal through the Ministry of Home Affairs to make arrangements to integrate the Nepal Police into the province as the police under the jurisdiction of the province as provided for by the constitution have not been integrated. In addition, it has been decided to draw the attention of the Government of Nepal to make arrangements to deposit traffic fines in the Provincial Consolidated Fund.

Chief Minister Pandey said that the federal government is yet to take the necessary decision to resolve the legal and institutional dispute over the management of the rights of the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) and the Manaslu Conservation Area (MCAP). 'Despite the continuous discussions of the provincial government with the ministries, secretariats and the Prime Minister, the process is being delayed due to the lack of stability of the federal government,' he said.

The meeting decided to take the initiative to bring the forests under the ACAP and MCAP under the national forest under the sole jurisdiction of the province under the provincial government as per the constitution and to distribute the fees and charges received from those areas to the provincial and local levels. The Natural Resources and Finance Commission has also recommended this, and the Government of Nepal has been demanded to make arrangements for the receipt of the past amount in the Provincial Consolidated Fund.

Land survey problem in the Himalayan districts

The meeting has decided to request the Government of Nepal through the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation to formulate a law by making necessary policy arrangements to facilitate the use of land in the Himalayan region, as the provinces and local levels are unable to expand fruit cultivation due to the lack of registration and survey of land in the northern regions of Manang, Mustang, Gorkha and Myagdi districts.

The meeting has decided to request the Government of Nepal to amend the Forest Act, 2076 and the Forest Regulations, 2079 BS, to include the provisions for the local level to perform the work related to the cutting, collection, transportation and export of trees in private forests and numbered settlements.

It has been decided to request the Government of Nepal to amend the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 2029 BS and the Conservation Area Management Regulations, 2053 BS, to include the provisions for the local level to collect, manage and consume riverine materials (stones, gravel and sand) within the Annapurna Conservation Area and Manaslu Conservation Area.

It has also been decided to coordinate and facilitate the collection, management and consumption of riverine products in order to reduce the damage caused by them in a timely manner by the local level within the national forest area and the Division Forest Office in the area outside the national forest area.

Legal obstacles in the construction of customs and immigration in Korala

Chief Minister Pandey said that there are legal obstacles to the provincial government in the construction of customs and immigration offices at the Korala checkpoint. ‘Since it is a constitutional body under the federal government, the provincial government cannot construct a building,’ he said. Currently, Rs 5 million has been allocated for toilet, drinking water (boring) and stall management only under the emergency shelter title. The Chief Minister said that the amount can be increased to Rs 10 million if necessary.

He said that the daily entry fee for tourists in the Korala area has been reduced to $50 at the request of the provincial government. He mentioned that this fee has also been reduced as per the demand of Tibet-China officials. He informed that the provincial government has already written to the federal government with a suggestion that this can be converted into a ‘per-day’ fee system in the long term.

Demand to convene the National Coordination Council meeting immediately

The meeting has decided to request the Government of Nepal to convene the meeting immediately as the National Coordination Council meeting has not been held for a long time and the issues of coordination to be addressed by the federal level at the provincial and local levels have not been addressed.

It has been decided to request the Government of Nepal to revise the work detail report as soon as possible to facilitate the implementation of the issues of the single and common list of rights in the constitution based on the previous decisions of the Provincial Coordination Council.

In order to make the coordination and partnership between the provincial and local levels more effective, it has been decided to form a thematic committee under the Provincial Coordination Council in accordance with the spirit of Sub-section (2) of Section 25 of the Union, Provincial and Local Levels (Coordination and Interrelation) Act, 2077.