Effectiveness on Local Development Planning in the Absence of Elected Political Representatives: A Case Study of Kailali District

Abstract

Governance is a process of political managements through appropriate mechanism and strategies remaining neutral in providing basic human rights to people and developing both effectiveness and accountability in all activeness undertake at the state level.Local Government is the main organ of the governance. The local governments are responsible to deliver services such as education, health and agriculture by establishing their ownsectoral units; prepare long and short term local policies, plan and programmes; co-ordinate and build partnerships with civil society in programme planning and service delivery; and raise revenue from local taxation, fees and other sources. The elected representatives are the key factor to decentralized development because local bodies have the provision of greater access to and control over development resources. But in the absence of the localbodies, many of the sectors are affected in local bodies.When the govt.failed to extend the tenure of the elected political representatives of the local bodies from July 2002, since then the local bodies are run by the central government and local bureaucrats. The experiments to run local self-governing institution have proved that the govt. has become unable to mobilize the development grants and sartorial projects as well as localresources for local development in the absence of popular participation. The policies and planning system of it is obviously affected in the absence of elected political representatives. This study is confined to the Effectiveness on Local Development Planning in the absence of Elected Political Representatives of the Kailali district. The impact assessment created due to the absence of elected political representatives and has also tried to provide policy feedback to local governance. Virtually, the various activities to strengthen overall local self governance process in Nepal including DDCs to develop their human and institutional capabilities are being remarkably affected since the absence of elected representatives.Therefore, the study in concentrated toassess theacuteness of Planning Process, to examine the people’s participation of planning process and find out the attitudes of ex-representatives and local bureaucrats in the absence of elected political representatives in the Kailali district. Today local government and politics have become focal points of democratic political development. But, without decentralization authority,the local government cannot act as an autonomous entity. Similarly, it states to have institutional development of local bodies capable of bearing responsibility, by providing such responsibility and power at the local levelas is necessary to formulate and carry out plans. It’s another important aspects is to institutionalize Local Government Institutions through local autonomy. Devolution of powers, responsibilities and means and resources as are required to make the Local Bodies capable and efficient in local self-governance. Both primary and secondary data have been used and various research techniques were applied to collect the require data for the study.Most of data were collected from field survey. The questionnaire survey was conducted to gather the necessary information and the interview was focused to the VDC members, ex-representatives, local bureaucrats and different professional and stakeholders who were concern to the local body. The Decentralized Financing and Development Programme (DFDP), thethen Local Development Fund (LDF) are being executed by the Ministry of Local Development with the financial and technical assistance from UNCDF. The DFDP, a five years programme was started in 2001. The maingoal of the programme is to reduce the poverty through financing support to the rural infrastructure, income earning and human resource development opportunities identified by the participatory planning process. Theprogramme is especially focus to improve the quality of the basicinfrastructure services through the decentralized planning and financing ofrural micro infrastructure projects. So, the DFDP only support for those micro-projects that have been approved by the respective council of local bodies as per as Local Self Governance Act 1999. The Prime focus of DFDPis to strengthen capacity, legitimacy and performance of DDCs, VDCs, COs and other local institutions for mobilization of resources for, and participatory planning and management of, socio-economic infrastructure development. DFDP has launched the many of the programme in the field of infrastructure, education, skill development, irrigation and other different development field in Kailali district, which provides the maximum benefit to the local people who are far from the assess of development. In the study, it is found that of some projects in the district which are elected according to the access rather than objectives realities, People’participation is not encouraging in the absence of EPRs. The Involvement ofthe woman and disadvantaged group in planning process is increasing in order but there are still some constraints and challenges for the more participation. Due to the Political instability, DDC’s officials were not able to go to field to evaluate projects and priorities of the people and as the same way, VDC’s secretaries were not staying at their respective VDCs from which local people are faced many of the problems including delivery services. The voluntary contribution of labor from the people was not being encouraging and the role played by other assigned offices of DDC is not satisfactory. Donors & the development partners are not interested to support LGs in the absence of EPRs. In such political situation, DFDP has providedits support the local people in the constructing toilets, drinking water supply,Irrigation, Calvert, Medical facilities and other skill development programsin some of the VDCs of sample district. Marginalized social groups are given priorities in plan formulation and implementation, basically, in the sectors like education, health, employment, skill development, different Productive activities, irrigation and public awareness in the district. Inter-agency coordination in the absence of EPRs is worse than at the period of EPRs. There is not any project who utilized the knowledge and experiences of ex-representatives. Ex-representatives are taken as pressure of unnecessary political power. They are not participated as a representative of local people and from any political parties. There are running so many kinds of training, seminar, workshops and talk programs organized by different development organizations and development sectors where excess of fund is mobilized. But, its result is not beneficial for the local people.Such training is not used in their practical life and from that very few person can take little benefit. In conclusion, those types of training cannot touch for the job prospects. And workshop and talk programs are not satisfactory for their daily life. At the last, it is conclude that there is not found the satisfactory conditions in the field of local Planning and other development process in the absence of EPRs. For sustainable development and strengthen the local governance,local election for the government should be necessary. If it is not possible,then there should be appointment of the one committee from representatives of all the political parties, civil society and different organization who are concerning to the local governance for well being the overall development of district.