Dipayal, February 24

As planned, the oldest Municipality in the far-west Dipayal-Silgadhi will soon become two municipal bodies, while one more municipality will be added to Doti within this fiscal.

According to Assistant Chief District Officer Mohan Joshi, who is also a member of the district-level municipal area determination and recommendation committee, a recommendation to this effect has been made.

“As per our suggestion, the current Dipayal-Silgadi Municipality will split into two separate municipalities, namely Dipayal and Silgadi and one more municipality will be formed by bringing together four VDCs of the present Area No 6,” he said.

“The new municipality will comprise Saraswatinagar, Laxminagar, Ghanteshwor and Chhatiwan,” he added. According to census data of 2011, the proposed Jorayal Municipality has a population of 14,182. Its annual internal income is estimated to be more than 241,000 rupees.

Similarly, the to-be Dipayal Municipality will incorporate wards 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the present Dipayal-Silgadi Municipality, whereas wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, and 14 of the present municipality will make up a separate Silgadi Municipality.

Meanwhile, many are cynical about the viability of the new municipalities, as the existing one is faring very badly.

“In fact, declaring municipalities has become a vogue of sorts as in most of the cases it is happening without due deliberations about their viability and under political pressure,” said District Development Committee Doti programme officer Tek Bahadur Khadka, who questioned the adequacy of internal resources to run municipalities.

At a time when there are preparations to declare more municipalities, it is important to note that all the wards of the existing municipality are yet to be linked by road and so far drinking water is still not available.

A total of 378 families have migrated from the region in the last fiscal, but the number of families immigrating is nil.