Kathmandu, August 8

Privince 3 Chief Minister Dormani Poudel today said nobody could speak against federalism as provisioned in the Constitution.

Stating that the Province 3 government was for strengthening federalism, he said local governments should not be weakened under any pretexts. “The entire system will be thrown into jeopardy if local levels are weakened,” he said at an interaction programme in Kathmandu.

Poudel said the three tiers of the government federal, provincial and local, should work harmoniously by avoiding friction.

Referring to the federal government’s act of  deputing employees in provinces, Poudel said it was a temporary measure until provinces had their own public service commissions, and confrontation with the federal government over the issue would only weaken federalism.

As far as designating permanent provincial headquarters is concerned, Poudel said it was not wise to make Kathmandu as Province-3 headquarters.

“We fought for decades against centralised system of governance. How could we designate Kathmandu, already chaotic as federal capital, as provincial headquarters?” he questioned, adding that designating places other than Kathmandu as provincial headquarters would be a true act of decentralisation.

Referring to Panchayat era government’s decision to designate district headquarters to bordering towns instead of accessible places, he said designating provincial headquarters in accessible places would be beneficial from strategic and security points of view.