Kathmandu, Mar. 13
Prime Minister Sher
Bahadur Deuba said on Sunday that the local government is the first school for
the democracy.
Addressing the 29th
Establishment Day of the Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN) in Kathmandu he
said that the local government is the government at the doorstep of the people
and is the strong foundation of federalism.
According to him, some
law and acts mention the local government as local level but it will be changed
to 'local government' in all documents.
"Following the
three-tier governance system in the country, the constitution has given
important rights and responsibilities such as development, construction and
service delivery to the local levels, especially the municipalities," he
said.
He said that the
municipalities have significantly contributed to various areas like the
development of model law, municipal planning, localisation of sustainable
development, and capacity building of judicial committee.
PM Deuba stressed on
the commitment of the municipalities in maintaining good governance by
delivering service to the people without any biases.
Stating that most of
the municipalities are facing unplanning urbanisation which has compromised the
natural beauty of the cities and originality while they are becoming unsafe for
the inhabitants, he pointed to the need of applying sustainable development strategy
in all cities across the country.
"There is a need
for a deliberate and integrated approach to develop infrastructure by checking
haphazard construction in the cities. I would like to urge all municipalities
in the country to work to establish them as model local bodies with original
identity and uniqueness," said PM Deuba.
He urged them to
develop cities with safe and healthy residential areas and centres of economic
activities.
Founding Chairman of
MuAN, Dormani Poudel said that since the local government is the foundation of
the federalism, they should be strengthened for the institutional development
of the federalism.
PM Deuba felicitated
municipalities that performed the best. Waling and Putalibazar municipalities
were felicitated for their contribution in the development of participatory
approach and financial good governance, and Nilkantha Municipality for its best
work in the area of urban infrastructure planning and development and disaster
management.
Likewise, Ilam
Municipality was felicitated for good works in forest, environment and climate
change management, Tilottama and Rapti municipalities for social development,
and Rapti Municipality. PM Deuba also unveiled a book titled 'Nepalma
Sanghiyata'.
MuAN has 293
municipalities as its members. Every district across the country, except Humla,
Rasuwa, Manang and Mustang, have at least one municipality.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 March 2022.
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