A foreigner visiting Nepal for the first time might be forgiven for believing that the country is lawless. The capital city continues to look like a war zone, nearly two years after the start of the road-widening campaign set in motion by former PM Baburam Bhattarai while he was in office. No one the visitor talks to knows when the seemingly interminable demolition phase will be completed and reconstruction begin.
The tourist visits a restaurant and is informed that clean water cannot be served since the water supplier has been on a strike for the last couple of days, essentially demanding that it be allowed to distribute water laced with dangerous chemicals and harmful bacteria. Every other day there is a strike: by transport entrepreneurs demanding that they be given the leeway to set arbitrary fares, by disingenuous gold entrepreneurs determined to keep government inspectors out of their shops, and by every other interest group. More often than not, the government is forced into meeting even the most questionable demands that could have grave ramifications on public health and safety. [break]
Yet the problem is not the absence of laws, but their woeful implementation. For instance, the District Administration Office in each district is authorized to punish anyone obstructing the supply of essential services on any pretext. But since 1990 the DAOs have been unable to bring to book even a single person, anywhere in Nepal. Likewise, the Essential Services Mobilization Act (1957) states that anyone who obstructs the delivery of essential services can face up to six months jail term and Rs 1,000 in fines.
Save for slapping the puny fine, there is also no record of anyone being jailed under this Act, which categorizes 16 basic services such as water, medical service, communication and garbage collection as ‘essential’. The Black-marketing Act (1942), the Consumer Protection Act (1998) and many such instruments to protect consumer rights have had very limited impact.
The most egregious violations can go unpunished, even in cases when the apex court of the land has directed the authorities to act. In 2009, doctors at Teaching Hospital, Maharajgung stopped emergency services for a few days. Apparently, they were not satisfied that a ‘lowly’ peon’s son had been selected in the MBBS program under staff quota. The Supreme Court labeled this a serious violation of Essential Services Act and directed the authorities to take action against the guilty doctors. Nothing came of it.
The problem is that it is nigh impossible to punish any offender in a society as thoroughly politicized as Nepal. Everyone is linked to this party or that union. The police will touch them at their own peril. In the latest instance, the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control seems to have disturbed a hornet’s nest by taking on unscrupulous bottlers of impure water and distributors of impure milk. The culprits have been identified and legal processes have been initiated against some. But it is extremely unlikely that any of the grave offenders will get punishments befitting their crimes, which is as good an indicator as any of growing lawlessness. The visitor can keep wondering.
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