GALKOT, JULY 26

After the implementation of federalism, the three tiers of government began to bring policies and programmes on their own. The local levels were elated to bring the budget in a bid to solve various local problems and intensify development activities.

However, non-implementation of the programmes mentioned in the policy and programmes and the budget has become a matter of grave concern, of late. People observing the activities of the local bodies have complained that the implementation aspect has been ignored while making policies and programmes.

Human rights defender Ram Sharma argued that people’s needs and demands were ignored while formulating policies and programmes, which finally resulted in non-implementation.

Random formulation of budget, no participatory approach, apathy to people’s suggestions, more priority to political cadres’ view than to people’s suggestions were some of the reasons that made people reject some of the programmes, Sharma said, adding that the budget was misused at the end of fiscal year just to show expense.

Some local levels brought ambitious policy and programmes but failed to implement them. For example, various local levels introduced self-employment schemes for coronavirus affected people, but faced challenges in implementing them.

Dhorpatan Municipality had announced reward for millet producing farmers. It was a popular programme in the fiscal year 2018-19. Rs 1.5 million was also allocated for this, but the municipality was unable to materialise it. It ultimately made many farmers abandon millet farming.

Chief administrative officer at the municipality Dhana Prasad Pokhrel, however, said farmers producing millet would be given prize this year as this scheme had been incorporated in the budget this year too. Even the mayor employment programme was announced this year.

Some municipalities used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse for not implementing the announced programmes.

Balgung Municipality, Badigad Rural Municipality, Galkot and Jaimini municipalities have also been slow in utilising last year’s budget.

Information officer at Baglung Municipality Yukta Prasad Subedi informed that the budget allocated for management of stray dogs in the last fiscal year was not spent.

The municipality had planned to sterilise stray dogs in Baglung bazaar, but it was not implemented citing the coronavirus pandemic, Subedi added.

Badigau Rural Municipality also could not confer the journalism award as set in the policy and programme, according to Chief Administrative Officer Balkrishna Subedi.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 27, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.