Service seekers compelled to trudge to meet their representatives, ironically! These representatives prefer to engage and expand their own businesses rather than addressing people’s concerns.
-Shiva Hari Ghimire/Ram Hari Karki : Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal
Sushil Dahal of Gumdi, Bagmati village municipality-7 made five desperate attempts to meet his ward chairman to get a recommendation for his passport. However, those attempts, including his June 21 visit, remained futile since ward chairperson Dahal never turned up in his office. This aggravated Dahal then screamed at the secretary, who informed him about the chairman’s absence saying, “Actually he (the ward chairman) stays in the city.
You have to go to the city if you really want to meet him.” And with the recommendation letter that he received from the secretary, Dahal set off for the ‘mission’ to get the ward-chairperson’s signature. He walked for almost six hours to reach Dobato of Chapagaon then took a bus to reach Khumaltar to get Ward Chairman Nabaraj Sanjel’s signature. Sanjel, who is also the Principal of Regent International School at Khumaltar in Lalitpur Metropolis-14, in fact, owns this school. Despite being elected to the post of a ward chairperson, Sanjel rarely has time to serve his people.
Ironically, local representatives prefer to stay in the city rather than the villages. This has mocked the government’s slogan of ‘government in people’s door-steps’. Forget about meeting the representatives, bumping into with these people seems to be a distant dream. As a matter of fact, a majority of these representatives are involved in their own businesses in Kathmandu or Lalitpur. They are, in fact, entrepreneurs, not people’s representatives. Says service-seeker, Dahal, “Our representatives take no notice of our concerns. They don’t receive our phone calls. To be more precise, they don’t come to the village.”
Reaching the rural village municipality office of Chapeli — adjacent to Makawanpur district — takes more than three hours from Satdobato of Lalitpur. Likewise, it takes even seven hours to reach some of the wards of this municipality.
Almost all office bearers, including the Bagmati Village Municipality Chairperson, Vice Chairman, and the Chief Administrative Officer were absent when we visited the office on May 8. A large number of curious people had gathered at the office premises waiting for their representatives. One among them was Gitananda Timilsina, 76, who was there to get a recommendation to run an electric water-ghatta (water mill), said, “I have been frequenting this office just to return empty-hand.”
Covering a distance of 80 kilometers
The southern part of Lalitpur district is remote and is almost 80 kilometers from Lagankhel. Despite being adjacent to Kathmandu, this region is deprived of basic facilities like drinking water, education, health, and other needs. The government’s slogan of ‘Singha Durbar in people’s door-steps’ seems to be a shaggy dog story. Forget about people’s representatives, even government employees of all the three municipalities of this area are most of the time absent. Service seekers are compelled to trudge to meet their representatives, ironically!
Shockingly, on June 10, ward chairperson of Bagmati village municipality-3 Bishnu Timilsina was putting his signatures on a service-seeker’s documents at the premises of Lalitpur Metropolitan City office at Pulchowk. The service-seeker was compelled to travel more than 80 kilometers all the way from Bagmati for Timilsina’s signature, who most of the time resides in Lalitpur. Consider what Timilsina has to say: “I remain extremely busy these days. Despite the fact that I don’t go to my office in the village, I have been doing my duties and responsibilities on time.”
Ward Chairperson of Bagmati village municipality Bishnu Timilsina putting his signatures on the documents at the Lalitpur Metropolitan City premises.
To be au fait with the representatives’ engagements, here goes a cursory look. Chairman of the Bagmati Village Municipality, Bir Bahadur Lopchan prefers to carry out his official tasks from his own house at Kumaripati of Lalitpur district.
Therefore, service seekers of his rural municipality are compelled to visit his house to get their works done. Vice-chairperson Ranjana Ghimire is no exception. She stays at Dholahity of Lalitpur and rarely goes to her office in Bagmati village municipality. Similarly, Jagat Bahadur Lama, chairman of ward-1, stays at Khumaltar, Lalitpur-15, and been concentrating on his construction business.
Chairman of ward-2 (Malta), Bijay Kumar Lo is usually seen in Chapagoan, Lalitpur district engaged in his sand and gravel excavation business. Chairperson of Bagmati ward-3 (Bhattedanda) Bishnu Timilsina, who is all the time involved in the construction business, stays at Thencho of Lalitpur district. Likewise, chairperson of ward-4 (Pyutaar), Narayan Ghale stays in his village but rarely goes to the office. When we reached his office on July 2, he was absent.
However, chairpersons of ward-5 (Ikudol) Sajan Darlami (Rajkumar) and Lal Bahadur Bomjan of ward-6 (Ashrang) make their presence in their office most of the time. Ironically, chairperson of ward-7 (Gimdi) Nabaraj Sanjel usually remains busy in his private school at Khumaltar, Lalitpur.
Chairperson of Konjyosom village municipality Gopi Lal Singtan and vice chairperson Mingma Tamang are regular in their office. Similarly, chairperson of ward-1 (Chaughare) Santalal Dhyaba and chairperson of ward-2 (Sankhu) Dhruba Ghimire prefer to remain in the office.
Chairperson of ward-3 (Dalchauki) Tilak Bahadur Bomjan’s case is different. He hardly goes to his office. He stays in Dhapakhel. Likewise, chairperson of ward-4 (Nallu) Tirtha Dhalan Lama, who is involved in the construction business, remains so busy that he does not have time to go to the office. He stays at Dholahity in Lalitpur with his family. Chairperson of ward-5 Sumindra Bal, however, stays at Bhaudeu.
Chairperson of Mahankal village municipality of Lalitpur district Ram Chandra Dahal’s home is in the village but is generally spotted in Jawalakhel and Lagankhel. On June 6, we failed to see him in his office. Vice-chairperson Kamala Tamang, however, stays in the village.
Chairperson of ward-1 (Bukhel) Khom Prasad Gautam, who is involved in agriculture, stays in his village. Chairpersons of ward-2 (Manikhel) Sancha Man Tamang, ward-3 (Gotikhel) chairperson Ganga Ram Timilsina, ward-4 (Kaleswor) chairperson Santa Prasad Gautam, ward-5 (Chandanpur) chairperson Khom Prasad Dahal, and ward-6 (Thuladurlung) Ram Krishna Acharya stay in their respective villages.
Since most of the representatives of this area do not stay in the village, service seekers are bound to travel all the way to the city to meet them. Ward chairperson of Bagmati village municipality-7 Sanjel claims of visiting his village thrice a week. “I go to the village, entrust the employees to do my work and come back,” he said. Interestingly, ward chairperson of Konjyosom-3 Tilak Bahadur Bomjan said since his family members and relatives stay in the city, he has to stay with them. “I, however, go to the village to serve the people,” he said.
However, Chairperson of Konjyosom village municipality Gopilal Singtan said that despite his repeated requests to be regular to the office, Bomjan has turned deaf ears. “These people neither make plans, nor work but prefer to remain outside the office and involve in their personal businesses,” Singtan said adding, “Bomjan is the worst among all.” According to Singtan, the ward chairperson of Konjyosom village municipality-4 Tirtha Dhalan often argues it is not obligatory to stay in the village. “Service seekers come to me wherever I am,” he says.
Facility seekers not delivering service
Chairperson of Bagmati municipality Bir Bahadur Lopchan rides a Scorpio jeep hired at Rs. one lakh per month. Likewise, all seven ward chairpersons of this village municipality ride government motorbikes and receive fuel allowance. Likewise, chairperson of remote Konjyosom village municipality Gopilal Singtan owns a private car worth Rs. 52 hundred thousand. Similarly, chairperson of Mahankal village municipality Ram Chandra Dahal has hired a car at Rs. one lakh per month for his personal use.
On July 5, a large number of service seekers had gathered at the Mahankal village municipality waiting for municipality chairperson Dahal. “I am here to register an enterprise. But the chairperson seems to be out of the station,” Dipak Ghimire complained adding, “We are facing hardship because of the non-appearance of the representatives.” When we called chairperson Dahal, he said he was busy in an official work at the District Coordination Committee. “This does not mean that I am not bothered with my day-to-day affairs,” he resorted adding, “These formal programs make us busy.”
Stating that they remain engaged in formal programs for more than four hours a day, chairperson of Bagmati village municipality Lopchan said, “In fact, we are in a dilemma. Even if we do not attend the programs, people think we have disregarded them, and on the other hand, service-seekers complain of not being regular to the office.”
Chairperson of Konjyosom Singtan’s story is no different. “Since we must attend formal programs and other government meetings, we have not been able to give time to the people.”
With all these instances, the conclusion is that the local representatives of Lalitpur are more focused on expanding their own businesses rather than providing service to the people. When we took up this issue with the Chairman of District Coordination Committee Amar Bahadur Khadka, he said he was aware of the tendency. “It’s the responsibility of the people’s representatives to provide service to the people,” he said adding that they would soon initiate a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the people’s representatives are in their office. Warning of action against such representatives and employees, he said they would refer the issue to the Ministry of General Administration and Local Development.
Local governance expert Balananda Paudel dubs this tendency as ‘extreme negligence’. “This is the time of their (representatives) litmus test, and that they must be responsible,” he said adding, “If they continue to act in this manner, people will discard them in the next elections.”
Secretary at the Ministry of General Administration and Local Development Dinesh Thapaliya termed this act as against the local government’s concept. “The ministry had in a 13-point letter had asked all local representatives and employees to manage residence at the local level.”The people’s representatives must be ready to serve the people for 24 hours.”
