Ward’s administrative apathy a major factor to be blamed for deplorable state of affairs in Rautahat’s Gujara municipality.

Binu Subedi: Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal

The declaration of Gajura Municipality of Rautahat as an open defecation free municipality on October 24, 2018, came as a longed-for commitment to eliminate open defecation in the municipality. This happened in the presence of District Coordination Committee chief Ram Ekwal Raya Yadav.

Minute of the decision to declare the municipality an open defecation-free municipality

The declaration was not only the solution. Construction of toilets in every household of the Paltuwa village, a Dalit settlement, was indeed, a primary requirement to implement the decision. A total of Rs 2.1 million was allocated for building toilets in April 2018.

The municipality boasts of having constructed the toilets, and if the documents submitted at the municipality by the ward office, and the necessary budget for the construction of the toilets are to be considered, every household of ward-7 would have a latrine. This would have been an undisputed feather in the municipality’s cap had this decision been translated into reality on the ground.

Ironically though, the village folks have not seen or heard of toilets being constructed in their households – the prerequisite to being declared it as ODF – until April 2019. The rings distributed for the purpose a year ago are lying in state of abandonment.

Consider what Pramod Kumar Chaudhary, a local, had to say: The municipality allocated the budget for construction of the toilets based on the photos of the toilets constructed by the villagers themselves. “The villagers were assured of paying back the money for the toilets that they had already constructed on their own efforts. They clicked the photos of the toilets and left from there never to return. They neither turned up with the money they had been assured of, nor toilets were constructed,” Chaudhary complains.

Fed up of hearing empty promises, exasperated locals of ward-7 filed a complaint at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in Mahottari on August 5, 2018, alleging the ward officials of defrauding the amount that was supposed to be used to construct the toilets in their village. Disappointingly, the CIAA, too, took no action, complain the villagers.

Ward-7 Chierperson Mofil Chaudhary spared no efforts to make fake documents certifying the construction of toilets in the Dalit settlement. Even the investigation by the Auditor General failed to find out any lapses or flaws in the process. Ironically, the Gujara municipality currently boasts of being an open defecation free municipality based on the paper-confined declaration.

However, ward chairperson Chaudhary is adamant to his words claiming to have constructed toilets in his ward. “Barring a few (owing to lack of land), toilets have been built in most of the houses in the ward,” claims Chaudhary. According to him, out of the one thousand households in ward number 7, around 500 houses belong to poverty-stricken Dalits. Contrary to Chairperson Chaudhary’s claim, in the course of our field reporting, not a single house in the ward had a toilet.

Ward chairperson Chaudhary’s hounding does not end here. In the last fiscal year, he had taken 300,000 rupees from the municipality to ‘plant saplings’, which never happened.

Likewise, a total of 100,000 rupees was disbursed in two installments (Rs 50 thousand in each) to gravel the road in the last fiscal year. The road, however, is now in a dilapidated state – that looks like a pool during monsoon and a pool of dust during winter.

Adding more to the list, a total of Rs 50 thousand was allocated to purchase desks and benches for a local Dalit Primary School. And here’s what happened. The entire amount was used up in the purchase of nine benches. If Sambhu Khadka’s (who works at the Arch Welder in Chandrapur, Rautahat) words are to be believed, each bench costs not more than two thousand rupees, which means that Rs 18 thousand was spent to buy nine benches. However, the authorities presented an expenditure bill of full Rs 50 thousand.

If the documents are to be considered, on May 2, 2018, the ward office allocated Rs 150,000 to purchase sports materials for the local children of ward-7. Ask the children about sports materials, and the answer is negative. It has been learned that the sports goods were purchased from a store ‘Robin Enterprises’ in Katahariya of the district.

Ward chief Chaudhary has misappropriated the elderly allowance as well by skillfully preparing some bills that showed an expenditure of Rs 370,000 to felicitate elderly and differently-abled people in his ward. Ask any elderly person or a differently-abled person about them being felicitated, and again the answer is negative. Says 68-year-old Kanti Devi, a local, “I cannot recon of any felicitation program by ward where we have been invited.”

Ward chairman Chaudhary’s misdemeanors do not end here. He has appointed his son Ram Lakhan Chaudhary as the ward secretary unilaterally — without announcing any vacancy or undergoing formal procedures. But he has a justification: “I appointed my son to assist me in my work since I am not very educated and cannot keep the records of the expenditure.”

Delinquencies on the part of Ward Chief Chaudhary involves yet another episode when he invested two million rupees to construct a public building for his residence. Consider what he has to say, “Did I do anything wrong by repairing the building, which was in a dilapidated state? I merely repaired the building and shifted into it.”

When we approached Chaudhary for his explanations about his alleged misdemeanors and financial misappropriation, he responded thus: “To tell you the truth, I have been cuckolded by the contractors. Therefore, I have already apologized to the villagers. I would rather not want you to peek into the past. This’s just enough.”

According to Clause 12 (sub-clause 2) of the Local Government Operation Act 2074, the ward has been entrusted with the responsibility of constituting a consumer committee and to oversee and monitor its work.

However, chiefs of the ward no’s 2,3,4,5,6 and 9 of Gajura municipality expressed ignorance about the entire process, including the selection and the work of the committees. Taking advantage of the right to information, these chiefs registered an application seeking the facts about the funds, expenditure and other procedures of the projects. “Unfortunately, we are yet to receive any information till today,” says Pawan Giri, Chief of Ward no 4.

Additional examples

The previous year, a budget of three million rupees was allocated in the name of Hariharpur Tol Dhalan Consumer Committee to repair a 175-meter road from Islamapur to Laxmipur of Ward-5. Interestingly, Bajuriddhin Sah (husband of the deputy chief of the municipality Raushan Khatun) was selected unilaterally as the chairman of the committee. Chief of Ward 5 Mohammad Miya Aarif Mansuri does not know what has happened in his ward. Says Mansuri, “I am neither aware of the selection process of the committee chairman, nor have any idea about the project.”

Benches bought at Rs. 50 thousand for the Dalit Primary School

Deputy Chief Khatun allocated the amount to the committee without the knowledge and recommendation of Ward 5 office bearers. However, the road, which was claimed to have been repaired, is currently in a dilapidated state. Khatun also allocated Rs 500,000 to a sub-committee headed by her elder brother Shekh Samaruddhin to gravel a road and construct a drain. Ironically, no signs of gravel and construction of a drain can be seen anywhere. Ward Chief Mansuri, who do not have any knowledge about the episode, has sought information about the expenditure of the fund and projects carried out by the ward itself. “I have repeatedly asked for the information but in vain. It’s been almost six months but I am yet to get the information,” laments he.

The municipality allocated 7.77 million rupees to a user committee to carry out the PPC of a section of the road from Islamapur Chowk to Laxmipur Chaudhary. However, the road developed potholes before the work was completed. Moreover, the chairman of the users’ committee, Shekh Sufayel, is currently abroad.

Chief of Ward-4, Pawan Giri too is unaware about the financial aspects concerning the ongoing blacktopping work in his ward. “To tell you the truth, I am ignorant as to who allocated the money for the same,” he complains. Ashok Chaudhary, Chief of Ward 2, too, is in a state of confusion. A budget of Rs 50 lakh (Rs 25 lakh from the Department of Roads, and Rs 25 lakh from the municipality) was allocated to gravel a road in his ward. But the budget has been wasted without doing much work on the road.

Frustrated with the monopoly of the municipality, chiefs of ward number 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 have started avoiding meetings of the municipality. “Even if we do, we make sure that we do not put our signatures on the minute,” Giri says adding, “And, if we sign, there are chances of being trapped in financial irregularities.” He recalls last fiscal year’s (2075/76) meeting of the municipality assembly when the ward chiefs were made to sign on the minute before writing the decision.

According to the municipality internal audit report, training was organized on different topics such as violence against women, women’s rights and maternity health on June 11, 2018. A total of Rs 400,00,00 was spent in the training. However, the municipality has yet to make clear about the nature of expenditure and the headings. A month later, the municipality allocated Rs 290,000 to an NGO called Dalit Integrated Development Nepal to conduct a health camp on July 12, 2018, in the municipality. However, the municipality is uninformed about the venue of the health camp or the number of beneficiaries.

Similarly, according to the audit report, the municipality allocated Rs 63,000 to Sunita Chaudhary, who was appointed on a contract basis at the Jaypur Primary School, Simara Bhawanipur-6 as an assistant. However, Sunita was supposed to get Rs 22,600 as salary for four months as per the contract.

The auditor general’s report (Number 35) of the fiscal year 2018/19 says: “Instead of allocating Rs 22,500 as salary for the first four months to Sunita Chaudhary, an allocation of Rs 63 thousand has been made. Hence, Rs 40,500 has to be reimbursed.”

Husband’s omnipotence

Basuridhin Sah, the husband of Gajura municipality’s deputy chief Raushan Khatun, has been actively involved in several projects. Even though he has been appointed as the chairman of the user’s committee, he is congruently engaged in the purchase of essentials for the municipality.

Deserted ring, and the letter of budget released

Sah has prepared a document showing that he purchased sports materials worth Rs 400,000 to distribute them to the local clubs. The bill shows the purchase of snacks such as Frooti, Kurmure, and biscuits even though he has claimed to have purchased sports goods on Asar 25, 2075. The municipality, in its record, has mentioned that the sports goods have been handed over to the ward chiefs to be distributed to different sports clubs.

However, not a single ward has received sports materials. “We were asked to put on our signatures on the paper. But how could we do so without receiving any sports goods?” queries Pawan Giri, Chief of Ward 4. 

According to the ward chiefs, Sah bought some street lamps during the Chhath festival and distributed them to the ward chiefs. However, there was a huge commotion when it was revealed that the street lamps worth Rs 400 were found to be worth Rs 2,500 in the purchase bill.

Similarly, Sah produced a fake bill worth Rs 1,142,000 in the purchase of Hume pipes bought from Quality Hume Pipe, Chandranigahapur to distribute them at the flood-affected areas of the municipality. The pipes, however, are out of sight.

The municipality bought a vehicle at the beginning of the fiscal year 2018/2019 even though it had already paid Rs 4,500,000 as rent for a vehicle from August 2017. Despite purchasing a new vehicle, the municipality has not returned the rented vehicle. According to the provision, the local governments having their own vehicles need to justify the use of any rental vehicle. The municipality has been using a Tata Safari jeep bearing registration number Ba 10 Cha 7382 by paying Rs 96 thousand per month.

The municipality’s expenditure on fuel is extravagant. According to the record, an expenditure of more than Rs 1,000,000 on fuel has been seen annually. This year’s fuel expenditure seems to exceed.

If the data of the previous fiscal year’s month of Falgun is to be considered, a total of Rs 239,000 has been spent on fuel. This indicates that the annual expenditure on fuel will exceed Rs 2,400,000.

A municipality assembly was convened on February 4, 2019 after the ward chairpersons protested the monopoly of the municipal chief and the deputy chief. However, not a single penny has been spent from the development budget of Rs 240 million which was allocated as development budget. Unfortunately, the deadline to hold the municipal assembly of fiscal year 2076/77 has already passed, and there are no signs of holding it. The municipality has been in confusion to resolve the previous fiscal year’s problems.

However, municipality chief Santa Lal Chaudhary refutes allegations of huge financial misappropriation in his municipality. “This is Terai, and things do not go as planned. I am not involved in corruption. However, there has been some misappropriation in some wards. This will be resolved.”