VDC secys cock a snook at govt

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: In spite of the orders of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) to village development committee secretaries to report to their respective offices within a week about half of them remained absent.

About 20 per cent of the secretaries at the VDCs were found absent from their assigned places due to either their negligence or lack of working environment, insecurity and extortion.

According to the MoFALD, some 600 posts of VDCs secretaries are still lying vacant. Some two weeks ago, the MoFALD ordered the VDC secretaries to return to their respective places within a week.

“However, 50 per cent of them are yet to return to their respective assigned places,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoFALD.

There are 3,915 VDCs in 75 districts across the country. The government allocates a budget ranging from Rs 1.5 million to Rs 3 million to each of the VDCs every year.

The VDCs have been running with a non-gazetted employee of the civil service for the past 11 years after the political parties failed to make consensus to hold the local body elections. At least 47 representatives were elected in each VDC to run them.

One secretary has been working for five VDCs in some districts and they have been bearing the brunt when one person is sometimes involved in five criminal gangs for extortion. Incidents of extortions and ransom are increasing in eastern hilly districts, Tarai and even in mid hills.

On the other hand, people are unwillingly forced to visit the VDC secretaries in the district headquarters for registering personal incidents such as birth, marriage, death and migration, besides getting recommendation letters for citizenship and passports.

“We are seriously holding discussions about the issue of sending the VDC secretaries to their offices,” said Thapaliya, adding, “We will decide on what kind of measures will be taken to solve the problem within three days.”

Of the possible measures that are likely to be taken, Thapaliya said, “We can take action or recommend for ensuring better security to the VDC secretaries.”

According to the VDC Secretaries Welfare-Rights Protection Centre, a total of 18 VDC secretaries were killed during the 10-year Maoist armed conflict, before the 12-point Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) in 2005.

However, eight VDC secretaries were killed in the last six years after the agreement was signed.

It is reported that the VDC secretaries are involved in the misuse of development funds allocated for the VDCs. The representatives of political parties have forced them to embezzle the government coffer.

The MoFALD assigned the secretaries to run the VDCs after the direction of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority to reduce misuse of funds in the involvement of political parties about a year ago.