This week the state government is completing 7 years of operation. The constitution issued on October 3, 2072 was duly implemented after the 2074 elections at all three levels. The House of Representatives election was held in November 2074. Along with the election of the House of Representatives, the election of the Provincial Assembly was also held.

After the three-tier structure, the federal government was formed for the first time on February 3, 2074. The current Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli became the Prime Minister with the support of CPN Maoist Center. The UML and the Maoist Center collaborated in the elections as a left alliance. Nepal Communist Party (NCP) became Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on June 3, 2075 after the unity of both parties. After party unity, the Oli government turned into a majority party government. 

Just as the federal government was formed by the election of the House of Representatives, the state government was formed by the election of the state assembly. CPN-led government was formed in the provinces except Madhesh province. Leading the state government were Sherdhan Rai in Koshi (February 2, 2074), Lalbabu Raut in Madhesh (February 3, 2074), Dormani Paudel in Bagmati (February 28, 2074), Prithvisubba Gurung in Gandaki (February 4, 2074), Shankar Pokharel in Lumbini (February 3, 2074), Mahendra Shahi Bahadur in Karnali (February 4, 2074) and Trilochan Bhatt in Far West (February 4, 2074). February 3) was elected as Chief Minister. In Madhesh, a joint government of Janata Samajwadi Party (then Samajwadi Forum) and Democratic Samajwadi Party (then Rashtriya Janata Party) was formed. The new practice of appointing the chief minister from the state Parliament has started. 

After the state level came into existence, which is known as a synonym of federalism, there was curiosity for everyone. Those who resented the old state structure began to oppose the provincial structure. The voice of opposition is still the same.  Under what conditions did the country adopt the federal system of government, what were the achievements after entering federalism, what are the achievements of the province so far, why the province is not able to work as expected, where is the knot of the problem? As much as there should be a debate on such matters, it is not happening. 

The initial period was challenging for the province. Employees, laws, offices, financial resources and means had to start from scratch. Drafting of laws, budgeting, state government and state parliament meeting was a new practice for the state. There were no institutional structures and bodies to properly guide the province. On the contrary, most of the federal structures and agencies did not help the province. 

After the province formally came into existence, the work of naming the permanent capital and the province was also completed. Even the Constituent Assembly failed to do this work and handed it over to the Provincial Assembly. The dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly was due to lack of agreement on the number and naming of provinces. 

From the initial stage, the province also started some good works. Koshi had arranged unsecured loans for the children of the poor to study MBBS. Madhesh launched Chief Minister Beti Padhau, Beti Bachau Abhiyan and Daughter Education Muddati Yojana. The amount of insurance for the daughter was increased to three lakhs.

Bagmati conducted a school-a-nurse program. Gandaki proceeded with the construction of 6 model schools in Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Gorkha. Lumbini had arranged a scholarship at the rate of 1000 per month to the female students of free Kamaiya, Kamalari, Muslim and Dalit communities studying in public schools. Karnali conducted daughter-daughter-in-law technical higher education, Dalit, Handicapped, Jehendar higher education program. In the same way, Sudurpaschim ran programs such as "I am young, let me grow, let me study, not child marriage". Some of these programs started by the province have continued even now. 

According to the information provided by the Koshi Chief Minister's Office, since the formation of the state government, 403.20 km of road tracks have been opened, 1390.58 km of gravel roads, 608.27 km of tarred roads, and 93 concrete bridges have been constructed. During this period, Sudurpaschim has constructed 550 km of black road, 1230 km of gravel, 1610 km of new tracks and 32 new bridges. Isn't this description enough for those who want to know what the province did? 

The constitution mentions that local level employees will be managed according to provincial laws. After the formation of Public Service Commission of Koshi in January 2076, so far 4043 posts have been advertised for local government services and 2114 people have been recommended for filling up the posts. The employees are currently working in the municipality. The more active the State Public Service Commission is, the more the problems of the local level employees will be solved. However, due to the lack of federal civil service law, even the state public service commission has not been able to do the expected work.

The federal government has not yet transferred police powers to the states. However, Koshi has built 97 police stations. In Bhedetar of Dhankuta, Sky Walk has been completed and put into operation at a cost of 20 crores in public private partnership model. According to Saroj Koirala, Executive Director of Koshi Province Investment Authority, a minimum of 300 to a maximum of 1,100 visitors will come to observe this project and it has increased the business of Vedetar by 15 percent. 

Janamorcha leader Chitra Bahadur KC made a speech in the House of Representatives meeting about what work the province has done, how many roads have been built, why we want a province that does not work. The answer to his question has already come above. However, what is important for KC and others to understand is that if the practice of decentralization and decentralization of the former unitary system had been successful, perhaps there would not have been a 10-year Maoist war, Madhesh, tribal tribes and other movements in Nepal for change.

During the practice of decentralization at that time, a law was drafted for the complete devolution of agricultural extension and animal services, basic health, primary education, local infrastructure development, women's development, domestic and small industries, commerce, public health, cooperatives, community and local forestry to local bodies. But it did not apply. As a parallel structure of the local bodies at that time, the subject offices of education, health, roads, water supply, agriculture, forestry etc. remained in the district/headquarters.

Duplication occurred in the distribution and allocation of responsibilities, resources and resources. Citizens did not get fast and efficient service. There was widespread misuse of state resources and means. The higher ranking staff did not want to leave Kathmandu. Even though the employees reached the headquarters with difficulty, they refused to go down to the village. Development was concentrated in Kathmandu and big cities. The distribution of state resources and means could not be proportionate, inclusive and fair. 

The Maoists of the 10-year Maoist armed movement were of the opinion that Nepal should be divided ethnically and the state should be restructured. Meanwhile, due to the Madhesh movement in 2065, the demand for federalism came forward. The Fourth Amendment of the Interim Constitution recognized federalism. The amendment expressed the commitment that the progressive restructuring of the state will be done with an inclusive, democratic federal governance system. 

Although the amendment of the Interim Constitution officially entered Nepal into federalism, the work of adopting it was done by the Constitution of 2072. This constitution basically stands on five pillars/legs namely federalism, republicanism, secularism, proportional inclusion and rule of law. The act of withdrawing or breaking any of these legs destroys the originality of the Constitution. Federalism is the main pillar. If the original pillar is broken, the constitution cannot function, it will not last. Federalism is not only the formation of state structures, but also the distribution of powers among federal units. There is a radical change in the structure of the state. 

has been achieved due to federalism. Sovereignty and state power are exercised by elected representatives. Ensure gender equality and inclusive and participatory representation. Every body from village/city council to federal parliament has at least one-third female representation. There has been a change in the organization structure of Singha Durbar. More than half of the nearly one lakh civil servants have been adjusted at the provincial and local levels. The employees who go to the headquarters with difficulty have reached villages. Local elections, which have not been held for 20 years, have become possible because of federalism. If only the Nepal government and the local government would solve the problem, there would have been no Maoist, Madhesh and other movements. 

Formerly there were regional offices in five development areas. There was a post of secretary. But there was a situation where the secretary was not staying/not going. Even the joint secretaries refused to go. Now there are more than hundred secretaries/co-secretaries in the state. High-ranking staff going down means bringing services to people's doorsteps. This would not have been possible if federalism had not come. In federalism, the structure of the center is to decrease, it is to decrease. This means an increase in service per unit. But as expected, the organizational structure of the center has not been reduced as it should have been. There should not be more than 10 ministries at the federal level. The number of employees is also high. The constitution considers the province as the carrier of development. However, by keeping the Ministry of Development under the Union, there has been a shift in the jurisdiction of the provincial and local levels. The budget has been dispersed in small projects. 

When discussing the achievements of federalism, the local level, which could hardly make a budget of 3 million, is now in a position to make a budget of more than 1 billion. Similarly, provinces that have started work with zero internal tax revenue are in a position to mobilize tax revenue equal to 50 billion. All the seven provinces started their budget with one billion each. Currently, the total budget of all provinces is 279 billion. An increase in internal resources and the size of the budget means a qualitative leap in development and service delivery. Centralized state resources are constitutionally decentralized due to federalism. 

Yesterday, during the conflict, people left their homes and entered the city. Most parts of the state were not in a position to dare to go to the villages. During the Madhesh movement, many citizens of hill origin were displaced. The countryside was deserted. Village lands became barren. But with the federalism, peace has prevailed in the country. People are back on their feet. There has been a change in infrastructure development including education, health, agriculture. Local residents have become independent.

Now the situation of people having to rush to the headquarters and the capital carrying small tasks and problems is gone. The problems of the village have been shifted to the municipality and the state government. The Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance used to be crowded to ask for plans of 2/4 lakhs. It is over now. The constitution has ensured financial federalism. 

If there was no change in the government of the country, the situation of people's representation at the local level would still be there now. Federalism should not be seen as absolute. If federalism and republic had not come to the country, the local level would have been in the same condition as yesterday. Since the main pillar of the constitution is federalism, the provincial structure has been formed along with it. The local level has been empowered. No country in the world has federalism without provinces. Instead, the local level of most federal countries is under the province. They run according to state laws. 

Constitution and governance is not just about being good. Problems arise when leaders are bad. Centralization or monarchy cannot be an alternative to federalism. The alternative is federalism with reforms. Nepal entered federalism with the experience of all kinds of governance. It is true that federalism did not give expected results due to lack of good parenting. Personnel management, construction of laws and institutional structures, capacity building, scientific distribution and use of financial resources should be carried out in a coordinated manner. 

According to the economic survey, the expenditure of the state level is only 9.80 percent of the total expenditure of the union, state and local levels. The provincial expenditure is not even 10 rupees in 100 rupees. However, there is no discussion about the difficulties of state-level operations such as personnel management, police adjustment, drafting of civil laws, construction and transfer of institutional structures, and land use. These problems are from the first tenure of the Chief Minister. The problem has not been resolved even though the inter-provincial council, national coordination council, national problem solving committee and other inter-level coordination body meetings have been discussed several times. 

The direction taken by the state at the initial stage was correct. Later, due to the division of the CPN, the change in the equation of governance after the election, the trust of the citizens towards the province is falling. It is the major political parties that have created such a situation. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to improve the political party. Provinces should be able to work smoothly according to the intention and spirit of the constitution. If the state fails, the entire governance system fails. Addressing the grievances of the province and creating an environment that works smoothly is the most important issue at present. However, the province also needs to transform itself according to the expectations of the citizens.