Govt urges I/NGOs to work under laws

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, August 17

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development has urged all the international and national non-government organisations working in the local bodies to abide by existing laws of the country.

More than 230 INGOs and 1,000 national level NGOs have been working in the local bodies, according to the MoFALD. Among them, 20 to 25 per cent of the I/NGOs are yet to coordinate with the local bodies as per the laws in course of carrying out development activities. There are 75 districts, 3,915 village development committees and 58 municipalities across the country.

The Clause 209 (1) of Local Self-Governance Act 2055 BS and Clause 58 of Local Bodies Resource Mobilisation and Management Guideline 2069 BS have provisioned the I/NGOs to coordinate with local bodies by signing agreement and working responsibly while carrying out development activities and mobilising resources in the local bodies.

"However, more than one-fifth of the I/NGOs working in the local bodies have not coordinated with the local bodies by signing any agreement in local level," said the MoFALD officials. "This is against the laws of the country," they said.

Prakash Amatya, member of Fresh Water Action Netwok South Asia, admitted that some of the I/NGOs were investing and working directly against the rules despite legal registration of I/NGOs to Social Welfare Council and District Administration Offices. "It is the government's and Social Welfare Council's weakness not to monitor them and bring them under laws," he said.

Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoFALD, said that they have asked all the district development committees to submit details of the I/NGOs working in the local bodies. "We are not against the I/NGOs and are not trying to control them. But we need them and they should also abide by the laws of the country while doing anything here," he added.

There are four categories of non-government organisations working in the local bodies--INGOs, central level NGOs, national level NGOs and local level NGOs.

Local level NGOs are based in local levels in districts and villages while national level NGOs that invest and mobilise resources given by I/NGOs in the local bodies. "There is not any problem of coordination with these two categories of the organisations," said the government officials. "However, the problem is with INGOs and central level NGOs that invest funds directly in the local bodies without coordination and agreement with them as per the laws," they said.

The I/NGOs choose a ward of a village or only a few targeted groups in the districts. They sensitise the local people but do not satisfy the people with their work. The I/NGOs shall either a whole district or a whole community of the district while they are working in the local bodies if they are interested in working for the development, according to the MoFALD officials. "They should own and take responsibilities of projects they have initiated," they said. "There is duplication of works with the government development programmes and lack of transparency in their activities. We are unknown about what and how they are doing in the local bodies."

The Non-Government Organisations Guideline 2061 BS and Local Self Governance Act 2055 BS have provisioned responsibility of I/NGOs, accountability, and transparency, restricting duplication of works in the local bodies. "The NGOs deliberately duplicate programmes with government programmes and prepare documents of project completion without investing anything," the government officials claimed.

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Govt shifting development grant focus to Tarai

 • Plans to slash funds given to hill and mountain regions • Experts call it an irrational move

BISHNU PRASAD ARYAL

Fast facts • Tarai belt constitutes a little more than half of the total population of the country (50.2 per cent) • Hill and mountain belts constitute about 42.8 per cent and seven per cent of the total population‚ respectively • The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development gets Rs 45 billion every year • As per the rule‚ each of the 3‚913 village development committees get Rs 1.5 million to Rs 3 million as grants • Each of the 75 district development committees get grants on the basis of performance • New rule says performance-based grants to the local bodies will be reduced‚ implying that each VDC will get only Rs 1.5 million and each DDC Rs 4 million

KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development is planning to cut development grants given to the hills to provide the same to the Tarai region.

According to the national census 2011, the Tarai belt, smaller in area, constitutes more than half of the total population of the country (50.2 per cent) followed by the hill and mountain belts that constitute about 42.8 per cent and seven per cent of the total population, respectively.

“The remote hill and Himalayan regions, where poverty-stricken, marginalised and underprivileged people live, will be affected if the government’s plan to slash development grants is implemented,” said Dinesh Chandra Devkota, former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission. “It will be an irrational move as marginalised people living in hills like Karnali region will be affected.”

The ministry is preparing to change the rules provisioned in the Local Bodies Resource Mobilisation and Management Guideline 2069 BS under the influence of minister for local development, Madhes-based parties and Unified CPN-Maoist, confidential sources at the ministry told The Himalayan Times. “This is a plan to spend more development budget in Tarai by cutting grants given to the hilly and Himalayan regions,” they said. “The government is planning to include this programme in the coming fiscal budget and programmes are being prepared for the coming year.”

THT’s repeated attempts to contact Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Bidhyadhar Mallik went in vain. He neither picked up his phone nor responded to emails.

The government allocates about Rs 45 billion for the MoFALD every year. Of the total allocation, about 70 per cent is spent on development activities and people-oriented programmes while rest is set aside for administrative purposes, according to the MoFALD.

Development grants are allocated as per provisions enshrined in the rules and regulations. Highly placed sources at the ministry told this daily that the plan was being chalked out with more focus on Tarai region in the name of population distribution.

Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, Spokesperson for the MoFALD, conceded that the ministry was working to amend the rules. “This rule can be revised every two years,” Thapaliya said. “We can concentrate on densely populated areas while distributing grants,” he added.

The proposed plan will revise the existing system and send more budget to Tarai-based districts. Out of the total allocated capital expenditure, 50 per cent will be distributed on the basis of formula-based grants and remaining as per minimum conditions grants, according to the Local Bodies Fiscal Commission Secretariat.

Each of the 3,913 village development committees used to get Rs 1.5 million to Rs 3 million as grants while each of the 75 district development committees used to get grants on the basis of performance.

The performance-based grants to the local bodies will be reduced as per the new rule, which means each VDC will get only Rs 1.5 million and each DDC Rs 4 million.

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Political parties forcing to practise non-existent law

Bishnu Prasad Aryal

Kathmandu, April 9

The political parties have still forced the District Development Committees to follow non-existent Panchyati law for misusing development founds for their vested interests.

The monitoring reports of the Ministry of Local Development recently assessed in 10 districts show that the budget has been allocated on ‘donation and financial assistance’ for the political parties, which is against the Local Self-Governance Act-2055BS.

“The political parties have forced the local bodies to allocate budget for them and their sister organisations in almost all districts, even Kathmandu,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoLD. “There is no such provision in law to assist any organisation or person with more than Rs 300, not exceeding a total of Rs 50,000. It was practised in Panchyat era prior to two decades to pacify their cadres. But political parties are still stuck to this unlawful tradition,” he told THT.

An instance in Rupandehi district

·        Rs 120,000 for Progressive Teachers’ Union

·        Rs 500,000 for construction of Nepal Trade Union Office

·        Rs 137,000 for Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandidevi)

·        Rs 136,000 for CPN-UML

·        Rs 110,000 for Nepali Congress

·        Rs 89,000 for Madheshi Janasdhikar Forum

·        Rs 60,000 for UCPN-Maoist

·        Rs 53,000 for CPN (Unified)

·        Rs 25,000 for CPN-ML

·        Rs 25,000 for Janamorcha Nepal (Sherchan)

·        Rs 22,000 for Janamorcha Nepal

·        Rs 15,000 for Rastriya Janamorcha

·        Rs 12,000 for Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Mahato)

       ·        Rs 4,000 for CPN (Unified Marxist)

 The MoLD monitored whole performances including development activities and use of allocated funds in 10 districts--Morang, Ilam, Bara, Kaski, Rupandehi, Banke Surkhet, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur and Rautahat. After the first phase, the monitoring is being carried out in other 10 districts. Five more districts will be scrutinised within the current fiscal.

There are 75 districts, 3,915 village development committees and 58 municipalities across the country. A total of Rs 42 billion including Rs 22 billion for development and Rs 20 billion on administrative expenses has been allocated for the local bodies this year.

Dhruba Bandhu Aryal, chief of Local Development Section at the National Planning Commission, said party share on budget, programmes and posts could be rampantly traced in the local bodies. “The voice of the people, who are needy, has not been heard even in the multiparty system,” said Aryal.

However, Dr Dinesh Chandra Devkota, acting Vice-Chairman, NPC, said they were officially ignorant about it. “The concerned ministry should take action on it. If we are reported, we will take action,” he added.

Thapaliya said the laws and regulations were not sincerely obeyed in the districts. “The ministry has given priority on productive sectors, inclusiveness, poverty reduction and completion of already started projects while implementing the allocated budget in the districts,” he said.

“However, it has not been focused on the issues and the political parties are interested in their own personal and vested interests,” said Thapaliya. “The development programmes are under grip of elite groups. There is lack of monitoring in the VDCs. The centre has also failed implementing laws well,” he added. “The local bodies are out of control thinking that they are autonomous bodies.”

Though the all-party mechanism has been formed in the districts in place of elected representatives, whose term was expired eight years ago, the mechanism is irresponsibly influencing Local Development Officers and engineers for vested party interests, said Thapaliya.

Nabindra Raj Joshi, Constituent Assembly member from the Nepali Congress, said law should not be violated at any cost. “However, programmes should be allotted on the basis of priority and necessity,” he said, indicating to provide reasonable support to the political parties.

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Rs 1.69B unaudied in devlopment ministry

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Lalitpur, September 17

Some Rs 1.69 billion remains non-audited budget, which is unlikely to recover, in the different departments and programmes under the Ministry of Local Development.

According to the MoLD, there are 75 District Development Committees (DDC) and 58 municipalities along with departments, commissions and committees as bodies of the ministry.

Devi Prasad Gyawali, under-secretary and chief at the Financial Administrative Section in the ministry, said that Rs 2.42 billion was a total of non-audited amount in the fiscal year 2006/2007. “We were successful to recover Rs 720 million by the end of last fiscal year during the past years,” he said. “Rs 12.3 million was recovered in the last fiscal year alone.”

Among the total non-audited budget, Rs 1.17 billion belongs to 75 DDCs and 58 municipals, Rs 401.7 million to the departments and commissions under the ministry and Rs 220 million under the central office of the MoLD and its programmes.

The Dalit Commission, Gumba (Monastry) Commission, Marginalised and Disadvantaged Communities Commission, Commission for Preservation of Endangered Ethnic Minorities, Rural Area Development Board, Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre, Local Development Training Academy, among other programmes, are those bodies responsible for increasing the non-audited budget of the MoLD.

Another high ranking official at the Ministry said that the revealed amount of non-audited budget was not real. “The amount of non-audited might be higher than this. There is not a specific data of non-audited budget,” he said requesting not to reveal his name.

Gyawali, however, said that this amount was published by the Office of Auditor General. “The real amount may vary from the published one,” he admitted.

There is less chance to recover the entire non-audited budget, said Gyawali. “Those amounts were spent by avoiding the transparency. Some might be utilised in proper purposes while others misused,” he added. “It is almost impossible to recover the rest of the non-audited amount from the concerned departments, commissions and programmes.”

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Lack of transparency slur in civic body

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, September 11

About 50 per cent of the budget allocated for the garbage and environment purposes in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is complained of avoiding transparency.

Rs 340 million, which accounts nearly 40 per cent of the KMC budget, was allocated to the Environment Management Division (EMD) under the civic body in the last fiscal year (2065/66), according to the KMC. Similarly, Rs 310 million was allocated in the previous fiscal (2064/65). Among them, some Rs 130 million was used to pay 1,300 staff of the division. Among them, they are 900 sweepers, and 400 others including police, mechanics, administrative staff and gardeners.

Nearly 50 per cent is misused under the different heads neglecting the principle of transparency, said account officer Nava Raj Dhakal at the Revenue Division of the KMC. "Although the documents are prepared in formal formats, the forgery might be rampant behind the scenes," Dhakal added.

Dr Sumitra Amatya, general manager at the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre under the Ministry of Local Development, said that transparency was neither in the centre nor in the EMD. "There must be transparency in the democracy," she added.

Buddha Ratna Manandhar, chief at the Budget and Account Division, said that some Rs 200 million was used for salaries, fuel, vehicles, environment, greenery, landfill site maintenance, community expenses, park construction and conservation, training and seminars. "A total of allocated budget in the fiscal can be additionally spent," he said.

"We provide the big sum of amount on the basis of proposal and break-down details by approving phase-wise from the KMC board," said Manandhar. "However, the authority to distribute a small amount of budget up to Rs 35,000 is given to division head. Besides, a small portion of amount is given to some local clubs without any records on their pressure," he said. "The amount is limited between Rs 5,000 to 10,000."

Dhakal said that there would be immoral agreement of commission between the KMC official and locals. "It is provided up to Rs 1 million to a club," he claimed.

According to the KMC, it issues total allocated budget to the EMD and but does not keep detail breakdown records of the supporting documents. "We send auditors to audit them but don't question on their documents," said Manandhar. "In this sense, there is no transparency," he admitted.

Manandhar said that there was no mandatory of bills and vouchers for the assistance and aids given to any parties. "But this amount will not be bigger," he added. "However, the division should present here for the final approval."

Rabin Man Shrestha, chief of the EMD said that there was clear transparency in the budget. "It was only blame for the sake of blame. Everybody can come and see the bills and documents of the expenses directly," said Shrestha. "Rs 45 million is spent annually on fuel alone for 100 vehicles per year while Rs 20 million is spent on mechanics," he added.

This is only the formality and the KMC is obliged to issue payment on the basis of ready-made documents, said Dhakal. "The transparency lacks in the crisis management. On the other hand, local people, NGOs and clubs are also spending nearly Rs 150 million from their own efforts of collection in the local level, which is helping the garbage management but not included in the KMC project," he explained.

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