Rautahat Mayor Urges PM Balen Shah to Stop Illegal Interference in Municipality

Rautahat. The Mayor of Molaunpur Municipality in Rautahat, Rinakumari Sah, has urged Prime Minister Balen Shah to immediately stop illegal interference in the municipality. She also demanded that local bodies be allowed to work according to the constitution and law. 

“If all governments are accountable to the constitution and law, I want to make a special request to the Government of Nepal, especially to the Honorable Prime Minister, to immediately stop the illegal interference happening in Molaunpur Municipality and to direct work according to the law,” Mayor Sah wrote on social media Facebook. 

Drawing attention to the conspiracy to obstruct the popular programs of the municipality, Mayor Sah stated that the activities against the payment of 'Free Electricity, Free Water' and 'Daughter with Mayor Program' are not normal. 

“The payment of these 'Free Electricity, Free Water' programs, which my city dwellers like and which are praised by people all over the country, has been stopped citing an order from the center,” Mayor Sah wrote on social media Facebook. 

She stated that it is sad that the Government of Nepal, instead of facilitating such programs, is interfering through employees and disrupting the municipality. She also demanded a clear stance from the government led by Prime Minister Balen on this matter. 

“On one hand, payment is stopped citing the upper body, and on the other hand, unethical and unnatural games are increasing under the leadership of the ruling party itself. This is not right in any way. I demand a clear stance from the central government on this issue,” said Mayor Sah. 

She demanded a clear stance from Prime Minister Shah regarding the unnatural activities such as the government appointing officials at its own discretion, those officials stopping program payments citing “orders from above”, seeking unnecessary decisions even in conditional budget implementation, and delaying project implementation, which are making the municipality's actions ineffective. 

In addition, she stated that illegal activities such as calling executive meetings without the consultation and direction of the mayor, determining the agenda of the meeting themselves, and trying to get the meeting's decisions certified by the deputy mayor are also suspicious. 

“These activities raise serious questions. Are the employees sent by the Government of Nepal to the local bodies accountable to the local bodies according to the constitution and law, or will they act arbitrarily on the instructions of the federal ministry?” Mayor Sah questioned. 

Recently, it has been alleged that federal government employees, leaders of the ruling party Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and the government itself are involved in stopping the popular programs of Molaunpur Municipality. Local residents are protesting in phases against the conspiracy to not pay and stop the popular programs of the municipality.