Jajarkot, January 12

Nearly two years have passed since local level polls were held, but Junichande Rural Municipality has not yet fixed its administrative centre.

The rural municipality has not been able to fix the centre as local representatives and people of various wards are divided on the administrative centre. Many service seekers have been hit hard due to lack of administrative centre in Jajarkot. It has forced the locals to visit district headquarters Khalanga for various administrative work.

Amid the dispute, local representatives are working from village while employees of the rural municipality are delivering services from the headquarters.

Rural Municipality chief administrative officer, accountant, and chiefs of other offices and assistant level staffers have been forced to set up contact office at the district headquarters and discharge their duties owing to dispute over the centre.

Lok Bahadur Shahi of Junichande-6 complained that project implementation, payment and other administrative work was affected as people’s representatives and employees carried out their duties from separate places.

“Lack of employees at the rural municipality has affected implementation, monitoring and supervision of projects,” he added.

Sana Khola and Luhadaha are seen as the possible centres for the rural municipality, but local representatives have not been able to reach an agreement. Prior to the local polls, after the dispute arose during restructuring of the local level, Parale of Majkot was fixed as rural municipality’s centre.

With the election of people’s representatives at the local level, the dispute had resurfaced. People from then Majkot and Daha VDCs want to keep centre at Sana Khola while people from then Garkhakot, some wards of Majkot, Kortang and some wards of Daha want to keep the centre at Luhadaha.

Junichande Rural Municipality Executive was formed after the local level polls. Eleven months after formation of the executive rural municipality assembly had convened and decided to fix Luhadah as the centre for the rural municipality, according to Chair Krishna Bahadur KC.

People’s representatives from disgruntled wards, however, accused that the centre was fixed without the meeting of the rural municipality.  With 11 wards, Ward No 2,3 and 9 are dissatisfied with rural municipality’s decision to fix Luhada as centre. They demanded that Sana Khola be fixed as the centre. Similarly, some from other wards too want to keep Sanakhola as the centre.

Rural municipality administrative chief Sarbadal Shahi said that Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration had written them to carry out official work of the rural municipality from Parale of Majkot.   Shahi admitted that they could not establish offices due to prolonged dispute. “We will work from Parale of Majot until dispute over the centre settles,” Shahi added.