The government has arranged that if both the posts of the municipality chief and deputy chief or chairman and vice chairman are vacant at the same time for any reason, they can appoint caretakers. In the Ordinance passed by the Council of Ministers last Friday to amend the Local Government Operation Act, 2074, it has been arranged that the members of the executive body can immediately appoint a caretaker from among themselves. The ordinance recommended by the government was issued by President Ramchandra Paudel on Monday.
Due to the issue, there has been a dispute over who will lead the municipality for the time being, when both the chairman and the vice chairman or the chief and the deputy chief are suspended at the same time in different municipalities. Some time ago, due to the same issue, both the posts of chief and deputy chief were vacant in Lalitpur's Godavari, Sarlahi's Bagmati and Mahottari's Jaleshwar municipalities. The work of the municipality is affected due to lack of acting responsibility.
Earlier in the Local Government Operation Act, it was stipulated that the vice-chairman or deputy head would take over the duties in the absence of the chairman or chief. However, there was no clear legal provision as to who would get the acting responsibility if both the positions of vice president or deputy chief along with the chairman or chief were vacant.
Earlier, due to the lack of clear legal provisions, there was a problem in appointing caretakers in some municipalities, said Kali Prasad Parajuli, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. "There is a problem of how to carry out the performance in the municipality where both positions are vacant," he said, "that's why the law has been amended."
Ordinance to amend some Nepal Acts on promotion of good governance and public service delivery, Economic Procedures and Financial Responsibility (First Amendment) Ordinance, Privatization (First Amendment) Ordinance and to amend some Nepal Acts on economic and business environment improvement and investment promotion recommended by the government The ordinance was issued by President Paudel on Monday.
