GANDAKI: Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokhrel has said restrictions imposed by the federal government on the exercise of rights guaranteed by the Constitution resulted in the province’s failure to deliver as per expectation.
There is no just financial devolution for the province to work, he added. CM Pokhrel said it during a meeting organized by Gandaki Province Coordination Council here Monday.
He wondered how the province could work while most of the resources were concentrated in the center and only a few coughed up to province and local levels.
A huge chunk of the budget is allocated for the central government while only 15 percent of it is allocated to province and local levels each, he argued, adding that it directly impacted on province government’s performance in delivering as per people’s aspiration and development needs.
Similarly, he reminded us that it was a huge challenge for the sub-national governments as the civil service act was not brought by the federal government. “We’ve now province public service commission. Employees are being recommended after fulfilling the approved quotas. But, the career development of these employees is still uncertain,” he shared.
Although police administration and peace and security are the sole rights of the province in the region, the police were yet to be brought under the province government. It has questioned the effectiveness and sustainability of peace and security, according to him.
The province has sole rights to national forests lying in the province, but the Forest Act is a big obstruction at present, CM Pokhrel reminded. He also blamed that local levels too had not given the province its rights. He urged the local levels to build positive thoughts.
On the occasion, Minister for Internal Affairs at Gandaki Province Dobate Bishwokarma viewed that only smooth coordination among province and local levels could help in the effective implementation of federalism.
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