Bharat Bahadur Thapa- the Mayor who has forsaken government facilities

Kathmandu - Mayor of Bagmati Municipality, Bharat Bahadur Thapa, can be called a role model for the local people's representatives. He has been carrying out his public duties and responsibilities without taking any government facility and allowances. So far, he has not taken his salary, allowances and fuel and vehicle facility provided by the government to a municipality mayor.

He has instead spent the amount that he gets from salary and all these facilities in development works in his town and in raising the living standard of the economically vulnerable population. Thapa was elected Mayor on the then UCPN (Maoist) party ticket. "I have involved myself in public service forsaking any of the government salary and facility to materialize the slogan, Singhadurbar in every village', and for the uplift of the poor people," Mayor Thapa said. Municipality's chief administrative officer Bimal Kumar Pokhrel said Mayor Thapa has so far not even consumed a cup of tea from the public fund.

"The Mayor goes to his house or a teashop for a cup of tea. He has not spent even a rupee from the municipality's fund for personal expense," he added. Deputy Mayor Lila Kumari Moktan said the Mayor has forsaken the government facilities in keeping with the promise he made to the people while asking for their votes during the election time. Mayor Thapa has not allocated budget to the municipality ward chairs as well so as to prevent the misuse of the municipality's funds.

He has instead asked the ward chairs to come up with an approved plan, carry out the works as per the plan first and then take the budget allocated to the plan, according to ward number 2 Chair Deepak Lama. Administrative officer Pokhrel shared that the Mayor spends from his pocket even when he has to travel to other places for municipality's works.

He has also been providing financial assistance for the medical treatment of poor people and providing them with food grains from his personal expenses. The Bagmati Municipality has 11 wards. The Municipality has brought plans for developing the 'City garden' on around 120 bighas land and ponds in about 200 bighas land, among other plans. It has also passed a policy which requires that all the Municipality employees should enrol their children in community schools and not in boarding and private schools.