People of around four dozen out of the 59 VDCs in Baglung are being forced to make expensive trips to the headquarters for official works like registration of vital life events, relationship certificates and land tax.
Only around a dozen VDCs including Chhisti, Jaidi, Kusmisera, Paiyupata, Rangkhani, Burtibang, Dagatundanda, Jaljala and Salyan have secretaries functioning from their respective villages. Most of these secretaries working from their villages are locals and some of them have even opened contact offices at the district headquarters.
People in the villages have not been able to get social security allowances due to absence of the secretaries. "People are being made to suffer as they have to travel to the district headquarters for registering petty incidents. The elderly are not even getting their old age allowances on time," says a teacher of Dhullubaskot VDC, Moharaj Sharma.
People of 20 VDCs including Bhimgithe, Darling, Rajkut and Devisthan in Constituency No 3 are facing the double whammy of having to travel to Baglung to get recommendation for citizenship from the secretaries and then return to Burtibang to get the citizenship. Though arrangements were made to provide citizenship to the people of the area from the Area Administration Office in Burtibang, the secretaries have turned the intended facility into a misery. "We have to to come to Baglung for recommendation and then return to Burtibang for administrative work," complains Ram Bahadur Chhetri of Darling who had to come to Baglung for recommendation.
Assistant Chief District Officer Dolraj Dhakal accepted that commoners have been made to suffer by the secretaries staying at the headquarters but did not say why the district administration has done nothing to stop it. Similarly, plan monitoring and administrative officer at the District Development Committee Devi Prasad Subedi said the secretaries have been directed to return to the villages but did not explain why the directive has not been implemented.
The secretaries, on the other hand, argue that they have not been able to return to the villages due to lack of physical infrastructure. "There are no offices in VDCs. All the VDC premises are in ruins. How can one function from VDCs in such conditions?" argued secretary of Malika VDC Ram Prasad Sharma.
Related story
Govt completes adjustment of 56 secretaries, 662 joint secretar...
