Six months on, dispute between people’s reps in Likhu Tamakoshi yet to be resolved

Ramechhap, December 24

The longstanding dispute between people’s representatives has halted work at Likhu Tamakoshi Rural Municipality, Ramechhap, for the past six months.

The dispute between RM’s chair and executive members has halted work. Development work has come to a complete halt ever since the dispute among rural municipality Chair Govind Bahadur Khadka, Deputy Chair Dipshikha Dahal and rural municipality executive members erupted and resulted in fisticuffs.

With regular development works shutting down, presence of people’s representatives and employees at the rural municipality office has declined as well. The dispute has hit health facilities as they have run out of medicines. It has been six months that money for day meal for school kids has not been sent.

Employees working on contract and temporary staff have not received salary for the past six months. Rural Municipality Deputy Chair Dahal said service delivery and other development works were disrupted because of the dispute. When they met to pass Rs 60 million to clear the payment for electrification of rural municipality Chair Khadka’s village six months ago, some rural municipality executive members had demanded investigation of the project charging financial irregularities.

“But, after Khadka did not allow the probe, the dispute arose leaving the budget of 2019-20 in limbo”, said Deputy Chair Dahal.

No meeting of the rural municipality has convened for the last six months. Chief administrative officer too has not reported for duty at the rural municipality office for six months.

Kamal Bahadur Khadka, a local, complained that stoppage of the work at the rural municipality had hit the service seekers hard. Rural Municipality Judicial Committee member Sher Bahadur Thapa said efforts were under way to solve the dispute.

Rural Municipality Chair Khadka refuted the allegation of financial anomalies in the village electrification project. “Work at the rural municipality has halted with members skipping the meetings of the executive repeatedly,” Khadka said.