JANAKPURDHAM, Sept 5: People's representatives from Madhesh Province have said federalism was being questioned because of the lack of devolution of power as per the constitution.

During an interactive seminar organized by the secretariat of the National Coordination Council, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, here on Monday, the people's representatives in Madhesh charged that the federal government had failed to devolve power. The program was organized to collect information in a bid to take stock of the jurisdiction of the three tiers of government.

Chief minister of Madhesh Province, Saroj Kumar Yadav, pointed out the need to wipe out the ambiguities in the law so that jurisdiction of all three tiers of government becomes clear. He admitted that the ambiguous laws were hindering the development works and service delivery.

"Although governments are to work as per coexistence, cooperation and coordination as stated in the constitution, provinces were not given the rights, resulting in sheer hindrance in education, health, drinking water supply, and rural development, among others. The existing provisions in the constitution must be broadened and made clear so that the people could feel federalism," he underscored.

Similarly, the Speaker of Madhesh Province, Ramchandra Mandal, said the expected results could not be delivered because the traditional thoughts and behavior were not changed as per the spirit of the federal republic. The institutions without rights would not help realize the spirit of movement. "Although it has been eight years since we got a new constitution, and province and local level governments are functional for six years, the rights and resources are not distributed in a just manner, thereby causing disappointment," he said.

Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development in the province, Krishna Prasad Yadav, argued there was no point in discussing responsibilities of the three tiers of government while the rights guaranteed by the constitution were not devolved. Madhesh Province is suffering the worst as it was not allocated adequate resources including budget based on population, and human development index, he argued.

Other speakers including the chairman of Municipality Association in Madhes Province, Pradip Yadav, viewed the provincial government was not able to work on its own because it was not handed over the rights on finance and security. He urged the federal government to immediately complete the remaining tasks of administrative federalism to empower the province.

In response to the questions, Secretary at Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister, Krishna Hari Puskar, however, claimed that the federal government was making necessary laws to enable federalism.

Earlier, the people's representatives worked on five different groups to provide feedback to the federal government on devolution of power and enforcement of federalism. Province Secretary Ramkrishna Pudasaini facilitated the event.

 
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