When the migrant workers return home, they not only come with money but also skills
The new constitution of Nepal 2015 has provisioned for the establishment of judicial committees in the local levels to look into some of the common disputes prevalent there. Accordingly, the Local Government Operation Act, 2017 has been enforced, which allows for a three-member judicial committee in each of the 753 local levels –six metropolises, 11 sub-metropolises, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities. The local judicial committee, headed by the deputy mayor or deputy chairman of the municipality or rural municipality, respectively, settles disputes related mostly to issues pertaining to land, parental property, boundary, refusal to take care of elderly citizens and domestic violence.
Under the Act, the judicial committees are also obligated to collect data of the local labour force, including those who go abroad to work as migrant workers and on their return home, as their right.
However, most local levels seem to have overlooked this responsibility, largely because they are ignorant about such a provision.
In the absence of job opportunities at home, hundreds of thousands of youths migrate overseas, namely to Malaysia and the Gulf countries, annually to eke out a living. In the last eight months alone, more than half a million Nepalis have gone abroad to work. Since these migrant workers originate in one of the 753 local levels, keeping up-to-date records about them and their movement would help the government to provide safe and orderly migration.
The Act also stipulates that the local government can impart training to these foreign-bound workers and carry out literacy programmes for them. Most of the Nepali workers heading overseas are unskilled labourers, who are employed in 3D jobs, that is, dirty, demeaning and dangerous. They have little idea about the working conditions or the climate in the destination country. Desperate to leave the country, many a Nepali has fallen prey to fraudsters. Still others have been injured or even faced death at the workplace. It is only then that the local governments are alerted by the family members seeking help.
The country just saw its second local level elections in May last year since the promulgation of the new constitution, and one would have expected the local governments to be fully knowledgeable about their duties and responsibilities by now. Yet, if for some reasons they continue to be ignorant of the provisions in the Act, it is necessary to provide training on such issues to enlighten them. As was suggested at a two-day training programme, organised by People Forum for Human Rights, this week in the capital, it might be prudent to have all migrant workers get at least one document from the local level as a recommendation before embarking on their journey.
This will give accurate information of those who have left for foreign employment and the local workforce available. And when the migrant workers return home, they not only come with money but also skills they learnt at the workplace. The local governments should be able to tap these resources for the development of the area by channeling them into productive sectors. This would ensure resources for the local levels while lessening the over-dependency on the federal government for funds.
Industries fined
Birgunj Metropolitan City (BMC) has taken punitive action against five industries on charges of polluting the Siriya River. Each industry was fine Rs 300,000 for polluting the river. Earlier they had been issued repeated warnings against contaminating the river, where the local people worship their gods and take baths. But the erring industries did not pay attention to stop the harmful chemicals from discharging into it. The BMC had to take action against them after the people shared images of the polluted river in the social media. Two leather industries and one paper mill were found to be discharging harmful chemical into the river without any treatment.
These industries were fined as per the Protection of Environment and Natural Resources Act. Due to the pollution of the river, people from over a dozen of villages have been badly affected. As per the law, no one is allowed to set up any industry near the water bodies. Most of the industries established along the Birgunj-Pathlaiya Industrial Corridor have been found flouting the rules set by the law. As per the law, an industry must set up its own treatment plant to see to it that no harmful chemical is released into rivers and other water bodies used for drinking and irrigation purposes.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 30, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.