Moula Na Pa Mayor Warns PM Balen Shah of Lockout Over Illegal Interference

Kathmandu. The Mayor of Rautahat's Moulana Municipality, Rinakumari Sah, has warned Prime Minister Balen Shah that she will be forced to lock the municipality if the illegal interference in Moulana Municipality is not stopped immediately.   

Issuing a press statement today, Mayor Sah requested Prime Minister Shah to stop the illegal interference in Moulana Municipality and give necessary instructions to operate according to the constitution and law. Otherwise, she warned, she would be forced to lock the municipality.

Mayor Sah has mentioned that her serious attention has been drawn to the ongoing protests in Moulana Municipality regarding electricity, drinking water, and the payment of financial assistance for daughters' marriages under the "Daughter with Mayor Program." She stated in the statement, "As per the budget, policies, and programs passed by the Municipal Assembly, necessary budget has been allocated for the payment of charges for meters of all municipal residents' households and irrigation under the "Free Electricity, Free Water" program. Similarly, necessary funds have been ensured to provide financial assistance for the marriage of each daughter under the "Daughter with Mayor Program." We want to inform you that the municipality is fully positive towards these popular programs established as the pride of the city and is committed to their effective implementation and continuity."

She also clarified that the delay in payment was due to the fact that the officer (Chief Administrative Officer) sent by the then KP Sharma Oli-led government of Congress-UML at the beginning of the current financial year did not report for duty for months, and then due to the unclear instructions and code of conduct of the Sushila Karki-led government formed after the agitation.

Her accusation is that the Chief Administrative Officer sent by the new government led by Balen Shah, formed after the general elections, is also not attending the office regularly. She also accused the Chief Administrative Officer of not being ready to open a bank account. She added, "It is extremely serious that the process of operating the bank account is obstructed for a long time, meaning the account is not opened, and payments are delayed under various pretexts despite repeated instructions to facilitate the payment process. It is unfortunate that there is an attempt to obstruct the municipality at a crucial time for budget implementation."

Mayor Sah stated that it is a sad matter that the Government of Nepal, which has the responsibility to operate and regulate local levels according to the constitution and law, is unnecessarily interfering through the bureaucracy instead of facilitating the work of local governments. She further said, "The activities such as the government arbitrarily deploying employees, those employees defying the instructions of elected representatives, stopping payments of programs passed by the Municipal Assembly citing "orders from above," creating unnecessary obstacles in the implementation of conditional budgets, and delaying the implementation of plans have raised questions about local autonomy."

Mentioning that the recent developments in Moulana Municipality have raised serious questions, she asked, "Should Moulana Municipality be closed? If not, stop the illegal interference in Moulana Municipality immediately. Otherwise, we will be forced to lock the municipality."

Full text of the statement is as follows