Provincial restructuring to strengthen federalism

Citizens expect good governance, stability, and smooth service delivery. Therefore, reform of the provincial structure should focus on strengthening the essence of federalism, not weakening it.

Jestha 6, 2083

Khimlal Devkota

Provincial restructuring to strengthen federalism

We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:

This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.

A resolution was registered in the National Assembly for the implementation of the constitutionally granted provincial and local level rights. The Government of Nepal had approved the unanimously passed resolution and prepared a roadmap for implementation. However, it could not work according to the roadmap. 

Similarly, a special parliamentary committee was also formed to monitor the implementation of federalism. The committee had made 99 recommendations within various dimensions of federalism, including the enhancement of good governance. The anger of the citizens towards the state is in the effective service flow and the enhancement of good governance. Therefore, the committee had recommended to the government based on the belief that service flow and good governance should be taken together when discussing the implementation of federalism. For example, the services of government offices such as land revenue and survey, which are highly crowded with service recipients, should be made faster, faster, more reliable and easier, and the middlemen in those bodies should be completely stopped (recommendation point 14). There is a tendency among employees not to work and to avoid work under various pretexts. The committee also recommended the formulation of an accountability law (Recommendation Point 13) for this. 

The organizational structure of Singha Durbar is clumsy. The number of ministries/departments should be reduced. The number of employees is too high. They should be sent to provinces or municipalities. There are also too many ministries/ministers in the provinces. The personnel administration mechanism has not worked in a manner that is consistent with the spirit of the federal democratic republican system of governance. An Administrative Reform Commission is needed for this reform. The organizational structure of Singha Durbar is clumsy. The number of ministries/departments should be reduced. The number of employees is very large. They should be sent to provinces or municipalities. The number of ministries/ministers in the provinces is also large. The committee also recommended that the provision that 20 percent of the provincial assembly can become ministers should be reduced to 10 percent, with no fewer than 5 people. Even in the period of about a decade since the promulgation of the constitution, no federal civil service law has been issued, which should be issued in accordance with the spirit of federalism. The provinces should be given the power to exercise the peace and security and police powers of the provinces, which are under their sole authority. The committee had recommended to the government for implementation that comprehensive reforms in fiscal federalism, administrative federalism, hierarchical coordination structures, etc. are necessary. However, the committee's recommendations were not implemented. If the committee's recommendations had been implemented, perhaps the Gen-G rebellion would not have occurred. Instead, the Balendra Shah government has unknowingly implemented some of the committee's recommendations. For example, ending the influence of middlemen in government offices, reducing the number of ministries, etc. 

The national commitment on governance reform mentions the formation of an administration reform commission and the removal of unnecessary organizational structures. Rather, there is hope that the Balendra government will do something to strengthen federalism. However, based on the principles of the policy and program and budget, there is no need to be so excited. There is no need to be disappointed with the provision in the 100th point of the policy and program that strengthening the federal democratic republican governance system will be the government's guidance. 

The backbone of the constitution is federalism. Federalism is linked to inclusion and identity. Federalism is linked to making citizens sovereign and having every citizen's work done at the provincial and local levels. For this, the identity of employees, structure, laws, financial resources and means, etc. should be matched at the provincial and local levels. However, I had/have the understanding that the state power of Singha Durbar, which is plagued by a unitary mentality, is tending to make the provincial and local levels weaker, not stronger.

The situation was that the employees of Singha Durbar refused to go down, and the leaders from the Maoists and Madhesh movement, even though they were ministers, were tightening their fists to give up their rights at the lower levels. Thematic ministries such as forests, education, industry, tourism, agriculture, urban development, physical infrastructure, and drinking water did not cooperate in implementing the rights granted to them by the constitution. On the contrary, they were encroaching on their rights. Federalism came to the country with the intention that citizens from places such as the Far East and the Far West should not have to go to Kathmandu for small tasks saying, 'This is what I want/that is what I want, this is not what I want/that is not what I want', and that is what I want/that is not what I want', and that is what I want/that is what I want/that is not what I want. However, the local government chief was made to work in Singha Durbar, saying, 'There was no Chief Administrative Officer in the municipality, there was no law.' Citizens from far and wide flocked to Singha Durbar, saying, 'The distribution of the budget was also not fair, plans and programs were needed in the development ministries of Singha Durbar.' Resources and means were concentrated in the constituencies of ministers and leaders. 

A joint committee of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly is needed to facilitate the implementation of provincial and local level rights. I had proposed an amendment to the joint regulations of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly to form a 'Joint Committee for Strengthening Federalism' with the intention that that committee would contribute to strengthening federalism. The then Chief Whip of the CPN-UML, Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Center, with Subash Chandra Nembang, a member of the then House of Representatives and Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, had requested that the amendment proposal be withdrawn on the condition that the committee be formed soon. I withdrew the amendment as requested. However, despite repeated requests, they did not implement it. I realized that not only the old leaders of the old parties, but also the young leaders were dishonest in implementing federalism. 

While being a member of the National Assembly Rules Amendment Committee, I 'convinced' the members of the task force to form a Federalism Strengthening Committee, even if only in the National Assembly, and the committee was formed, which is now functioning under the name of the 'Federalism Strengthening and National Concerns Committee'. On my initiative, a 'Regional Concerns Time' was included in the National Assembly Rules, during which members of parliament speak only on issues of the province to which they were elected. Similarly, a provision was made in the Rules to visit the provinces once a year, interact with the provincial and local levels, and record their issues. Efforts were started to orient the National Assembly towards the provinces and local levels. However, the attraction of big leaders is only in the House of Representatives. The National Assembly is in the shadow of the House of Representatives due to the fact that it is directly elected by the people, and its role in forming/forming the government. 

Currently, there is a government led by the National Independent Party with a two-thirds majority. The party's election manifesto states, 'We will prepare a discussion paper on the proposal for amending the constitution within 3 months of leading the government in order to establish a national consensus.' A task force led by former MP Asim Shah, political advisor to the Prime Minister, has been formed to prepare the discussion paper. Leaders of almost all political parties are present in the meeting of the task force. The task force will work on various aspects of amending the constitution, but according to news reports in various media outlets, leaders of old parties have questioned the process of amending the constitution. However, what the old parties need to understand is that the issue of amending the constitution is also in their election manifesto. The second point of the 7-point agreement between the CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress on Asad 17, 2081 mentions the issue of amending the constitution. They formed the government with the intention of amending the constitution. However, they did not even hold a general discussion for a year. 

The 'mandate' of the Balendra Shah government is also the amendment of the constitution. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has discussed the reformed provincial structure. The Nepali Congress has talked about 7 ministries. What do the citizens want when discussing reforms? What do they say? It is also necessary to think about that. Similarly, it is also necessary to understand the views of the provincial officials, including the Chief Minister. 

There are many complaints from the citizens - it has become too expensive, the number of provincial MPs has increased, there is only space to raise and feed cadres, ministries have been placed in windows, there is no stability, the government has changed repeatedly, it has imitated the center in terms of organizational structure, etc., it has not been able to produce results, it has not been able to coordinate with the municipality, the selection and implementation of plans have also been haphazard, some provinces have even sold plans, they have not addressed issues of identity related to the province, there is no financial discipline and good governance, etc.

The views of the provincial officials, including the Chief Minister, are different. For example, the provinces do not have revenue rights according to their responsibilities and financial transfers have not been able to do justice, although the provinces have the power to maintain peace and security and police, there has been no police adjustment, the federation has not made essential laws such as federal civil service, education, land, agriculture, etc., the transfer of the chief secretary and secretary is done without consultation, the federation interferes in personnel, laws, and planning, etc., coordinating structures such as the Inter-Province Council and the National Coordination Council are not activated, decisions of the meetings are not implemented, and despite having the power of the state, it behaves like a decentralized unit of the federation, etc. If only an environment is created for the provinces to work well, there will be no problem. However, there is a big problem with stability. This is a political problem. Due to the problem of stability, there is a need to compromise on enhancing good governance. Therefore, now it is necessary to debate and advocate from a new vein on issues such as stability in the provinces. 

Currently, the RSVP has about two-thirds of the seats in the House of Representatives. The Wallen/RSVP scandal is still pending. This rap and heat will bring the RSVP majority in the province. However, there is still a year left for the provincial elections. Majorities are not always permanent. There is no way to say that citizens will give a majority in the provinces, just like in the House of Representatives. 

There has been a lot of debate about the directly elected Chief Minister system regarding reforms. However, some political parties think that this method will lead to autocracy. If the Prime Minister is elected through the direct election system, he can become an autocracy, but Chief Ministers cannot go that way. The Constitution has given the federal government the right to dissolve the provincial government and the provincial assembly if they go beyond the constitution. It does not matter if the Prime Minister is elected by the parliament (as it is now), but the Chief Minister goes through the method of being directly elected by the people. The entire country suffers if the Prime Minister violates the constitution or goes off track. However, it does not matter much if a Chief Minister goes off track. Even if the government is dissolved, it can be brought back on track. However, for this, the federal government must be elected through parliament. 

There is also a debate that the issue of proportional inclusive representation can be directly included in the budget for reducing the province's expenses and for stability by abolishing the proportional election system. In this method, the number of provincial assemblies will be reduced from 550 to 330. This will reduce expenses and also ensure stability. There has also been a debate on this method. It is necessary to think about the structure of the provincial assembly and the provincial government in a slightly different way by keeping the suggestions of citizens and stakeholders at the center. There is a different idea for the debate here. It is necessary to think about many aspects of it. This is an initial concept. 

सुधारका सम्बन्धमा प्रत्यक्ष निर्वाचित मुख्यमन्त्री प्रणालीबारे धेरै बहस भएको छ । तर, यो विधिले निरंकुशता निम्त्याउँछ भन्ने सोच केही राजनीतिक दलमा छ । It would be appropriate to form a provincial assembly consisting of the rural municipality chairperson, vice-chairperson and the mayor and deputy mayor of the municipality. The assembly would elect a person who is permanently resident in the province and is not a member of the provincial assembly as the Chief Minister and Speaker. The Chief Minister would appoint 5 to 7 people who are permanently resident in the province and are not members of the provincial assembly as ministers based on inclusive representation, based on the number of provincial assemblies. The provision that the mayor cannot be elected more than twice in a municipality should be removed and a provision should be made that the mayor cannot be elected more than twice in a row. यस्तो व्यवस्था प्रतिनिधिसभाको सदस्यका रूपमा पनि राख्ने । प्रतिनिधिसभामा नमरुन्जेल सदस्य हुन पाउने, तर पालिकामा दुई पटकभन्दा बढी हुन नपाउने भन्ने व्यवस्था न्यायोचित छैन । 

मुख्यमन्त्री र सभामुख फरक लिंग वा समुदायको हुने व्यवस्था मिलाउने । समानुपातिक सिद्धान्तबमोजिम प्रदेशसभाका समितिका सभापतिहरू पनि प्रदेशमै स्थायीय बसोबास भएका र प्रदेशसभाको सदस्य नभएका व्यक्तिलाई निर्वाचित गर्ने । समानुपातिक सिद्धान्तका आधारमा निर्वाचित गर्दा एउटै दलको प्रचुर बहुमत भए पनि सबै सभापति पदमा त्यही दलबाट निर्वाचित हुँदैनन् । थोरै संख्या हुने दलबाट पनि प्रतिनिधित्व हुन्छ । सामान्यतया प्रदेशसभाको बैठक वर्षको दुई पटक हुन्छ । प्रदेशसभाले विधायिकी अभ्यास गर्ने, नीति तथा कार्यक्रम र बजेट स्वीकृत गर्ने र कानुनहरू बनाउनेलगायत काम गर्छ । पालिकाका प्रमुख र उपप्रमुख प्रदेशसभाको बैठकका समयमा मात्रै जान्छन् । अन्य समयमा आफ्नै पालिकामा रहन्छन् । यसले पालिका र प्रदेशबीच योजना र कानुन तर्जुमा लगायतमा समन्वय र समझदारी हुन्छ । पालिकापिच्छे कानुन भन्ने जुन आतंक छ, त्यसको पनि अन्त्य हुन्छ । प्रदेशभरिका कानुनहरूमा सामञ्जस्यता हुन्छ । कार्यक्रम तथा योजनाहरूमा तालमेल हुन्छ । मुख्यमन्त्री प्रदेशसभाप्रति जवाफदेही हुन्छ । मुख्यमन्त्री हटाउनुपरे दुईतिहाइ चाहिने व्यवस्था मिलाउनुपर्छ । यस्तै चाँजोपाँजो नीति तथा कार्यक्रम, बजेट र विधेयकमा पनि मिलाउनुपर्छ । 

संविधानतः प्रदेशको मूल जिम्मेवारी विकास हो । यसका लागि स्थायित्व चाहिन्छ । प्रदेशसभाको ‘स्ट्रेन्थ’ का आधारमा प्रमुख विपक्षी दल, दलका नेता, आदि बनाए पनि भयो । प्रदेशसभाभित्रबाटै बनाउने वा मुख्यमन्त्रीजस्तै बाहिरबाट ल्याउने यी सबै पाटोमाथि गम्भीर बहस भने आवश्यक छ । यो सुधारले राष्ट्रिय सभाको मतभारलगायत संविधानका विविध ठाउँमा पर्ने असरलाई पनि त्यत्तिकै मनन गर्न जरुरी छ । 

संघीयताको सफल कार्यान्वयनका लागि प्रदेश संरचनाको औचित्यभन्दा यसको प्रभावकारिता कसरी बढाउने ? यो प्रश्न अब बहसको केन्द्रमा आउनुपर्छ । नागरिकको अपेक्षा सुशासन, स्थायित्व र सहज सेवाप्रवाह हो । त्यसैले प्रदेश संरचनामा हुने कुनै पनि सुधार संघीयताको मर्म कमजोर पार्ने होइन, अझ बलियो बनाउने दिशामा केन्द्रित हुनुपर्छ । 

Khimlal

Link copied successfully