Gandaki Province Through Federal Lens A Review of Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Federalism refers to a political governing system with multiple tiers of government working together with coordination. It is preferred for self and shared rule. Nepal also has gone through federal system of governance and the provincial governments have massive authority including legislation and executive power. This research analyzes the discourses of federalism implementation in Nepal in special reference to Gandaki province. It has critically examined the administrative and political system of Gandaki Province in terms of service delivery and development. Besides demonstrating the performances of provincial government and provincial assembly, it has analyzed inter-governmental relation of Gandaki province with other two tiers of government. For this research, people from provincial and local governments (elected representatives and government employees), provincial assembly members, academicians, civil society leaders and journalists were interviewed. The interview findings were analyzed by supplementing with published documents. There is big paradigm shift in terms of governance in Nepal after implementation of federalism. Nevertheless, just going into federal structure is not the solution. As in case of other provincial governments, Gandaki province had also to start from scratch. It gradually took a shape of government and has been functioning sluggishly. This research highlights that the provincial government has many challenges ahead, which has badly hindered its plans and actions. Additionally, fundamental laws, infrastructures and human resources are found to be insufficient in sub-national level. Lack of clarity in jurisdiction is another main challenge. The Nepali Constitution assumes cooperation, coexistence and coordination as the fundamental principles of federalism which, unfortunately, appear to be lacking among the three tiers of government despite their efforts. Though the devolution of power to sub-national governments is essential for the successful implementation of federalism, the research shows that it has been delayed due to centralized mentality of bureaucracy as well as political leader.