Dhangadi, February 13

Lack of proper working space has affected productivity and service delivery at the local levels in Province 7.

The offices of rural municipalities and municipalities in the province have been facing challenges in operating effectively from their rented work stations that are mostly crammed. Proper working space and infrastructure required for local level offices are lacking even though considerable time has passed since the local levels were established. While offices of some local levels are yet to be managed for want of proper suitable structures, some others have been operating from makeshift offices. A large number of governmental and non-governmental organisations have been stranded for want of necessary building structures.

Ajayamera Rural Municipality and Nawadurga Rural Municipality have been operating from a shanty that can barely accommodate the municipal staff. Likewise, none of the existing buildings were suitable for housing the office of Bhageshwor Rural Municipality in Bagakot area of Dadeldhura. Likewise, a few local level offices have been operating from the staffers’ personal accommodation in the district.

The offices of Ganyapdhura and Aalital rural municipalities have been unable to accommodate department-wise offices and staffers. “Our rural municipality office has been set up in the then Aalital Village Development Committee building. But, we have not been able to separate the departments in the offices,” said Bal Bahadur Gurung, chair of Aailital Rural Municipality. He added that all local bodies in the province, except Amargadi Municipality with its office at the district headquarters, were facing the same problem.

Likewise, the offices of all nine local bodies, two municipalities and seven rural municipalities in Doti, shared similar plight. Badi Kedar Rural Municipality Chairperson Krishna Bahadur Chand said, “We have been facing hard time due to lack of necessary structure for offices.”