Rukumkot, November 18

The newly created Rukum East district is in dire need of budget to run its daily administration and perform work related to provincial and parliamentary elections scheduled for November 26.

Rukum East District Administration Office was supposed to a get a regular budget of Rs 30 million a month ago, but has not received the amount yet. Due to lack of money, DAO Rukum East has been buying services on credit. Government offices in the district lack fund also because there are no bank branches in the new district and the District Treasury and Controller’s Office cannot transfer fund to government offices.

Government offices are operating in the district headquarters on ad hoc basis, said an official at the DAO. “We have been buying services on credit. The line ministry had assured it would send the regular budget a month ago, but we have not received any amount till today. We are not talking of the additional budget we may need. It is very difficult to operate the office,” the staff added.

According to him the DAO ran a  voting rights education training for trainers for 42 civil servants last week and all the purchases were made on credit due to lack of fund. “We will be  organising training for 45 returning officers and 45 assistant returning officers from tomorrow,  but again we do not have budget for the same,” the DAO staff said.

The local administration will be mobilising 341 civil servants for the election.

Out of 18 posts at the Rukum East District Administration Office, only three posts have been filled with civil servants

at present.

“We do not have the required number of administrative civil servants. We do not have enough infrastructure in our office. We have not received regular budget yet” said Chief District Officer of Rukum East Bhupendra Sapkota.

Sapkota, who was posted in the district two months ago, has been living in a one-room apartment provided by the

government.

The Cabinet had, on October 4, decided to set up seven offices in Rukumkot for the new district of East Rukum as soon as possible, but none of the offices set up here have adequate resources. Some are not even well furnished even though the November 26 polls are just around the corner.

The government had decided to establish a new DAO, District Court, District Treasury Controller Office, District Election Office, District Attorney’s Office, District Public Health Office and District Coordination Committee Office, but the government has not established the District Court, District Attorney’s Office and District Public Health Office yet.

“We will have to send cases to Rukum West district if there are any election offence cases are filed in the district because we do not have our own District Court nor do we have our own District Attorney’s Office” said the DAO staff, adding, “The District Treasury and Controller’s Office has been set up, but there is no branch of any bank to which money meant for various government offices can be transferred.”

There are  28,000 voters and a population of 57,000 in the district. There are only three rural municipalities — Sisne, Bhume and Puthauttarganga and 31 wards. The government has set up one polling station in each ward.