Ward Chairs accuse Mayor of retaliation
KATHMANDU, May 19: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Mayor Balen Shah has reshuffled the coordinators of four committees. The changes were made following Clause 15 of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Executive (Work Execution) Regulation 2074.
As per sub-clause 1 of the same regulation, new coordinators have been appointed. Among the changes, Ward No. 17 Chairperson Nabin Manandhar has been removed from his role as the coordinator of the Information Technology Committee. His responsibilities have now been assigned to Ward No. 5 Chairperson Birendra Prajapati. Along with this new role, Prajapati has also been appointed as the official spokesperson of the metropolis.
Similarly, Ward No. 26 Chairperson Khem Raj Tiwari has been removed from his role as the coordinator of the Good Governance Committee. Ward No. 30 Chairperson Dal Bahadur Karki has been appointed in his place.
Ward No. 8 Chairperson Asaman Sangat has been removed from his role as the coordinator of the Heritage and Tourism Committee. Ward No. 24 Chairperson Binod Kumar Rajbhandari has been assigned the responsibility in his place.
Additionally, Ward No. 23 Chairperson Maharaja Maherjan has been removed from his role as the coordinator of the Legislative Committee. Ward No. 16 Chairperson Rojina Shrestha has been appointed to take over his responsibilities.
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Nabin Manandhar, who was removed from his position as the coordinator of the Information Technology Committee, claims that Mayor Shah's decision was based on personal dissatisfaction. Manandhar said, “I have been removed from the position of committee coordinator, not from the spokesperson role. The mayor probably didn’t like me, so he decided to remove me. He did not ask for any clarification beforehand. Suddenly, I received a letter stating that I was removed from my responsibilities.”
Manandhar further mentioned that this issue would be discussed, and he believes that the mayor acted out of retaliation. He questioned whether the decision was in line with regulations. According to Manandhar, he has not been removed from his role as the spokesperson. He clarified, “To be removed from the spokesperson position, a meeting of the executive committee must be held. Only after a majority decision in the meeting can one be removed from the spokesperson role. The mayor doesn't have the authority to remove the spokesperson unilaterally.”
Manandhar claims that they were removed from their responsibilities after they requested a meeting of the executive committee. He stated that despite requesting the meeting for five months, no meeting was held, and when they insisted on one, they were removed from their roles.
Similarly, Asaman Sangat, the chairperson of Ward No. 8, who was removed from his position as the coordinator of the Heritage and Tourism Committee, claimed that his responsibilities were taken away after he requested a meeting with the mayor. He said, “We asked the mayor for a meeting of the executive committee, but he didn’t like it and removed us from our positions. This is not in accordance with the law.”
He said that the letter he received regarding his removal from responsibilities did not specify the reason for his removal, leaving him unaware of the cause. He said, “I have received the letter sent by the mayor. The letter only mentions that I have been removed from my responsibilities, but it does not state the reason for the removal.”
Regarding the issue of being removed from his responsibilities, he said that discussions were underway. He insists that matters should be handled according to rules and laws, and everyone should respect that process.
Meanwhile, Dal Bahadur Karki, who has been appointed as the new coordinator of the Good Governance Committee, said that while the responsibility has been given to him, the decision on whether to work or not still depends on the party. He stated, “The mayor has assigned me the responsibility. However, it depends on what the party says. If the party asks me not to work as the coordinator, I won't. For that, I might even have to go against the party. I will discuss it with the party and make a decision.”
He said that there has been a conflict between the mayor and the central government, specifically regarding the chief administrative officer. He believes that this conflict has led to the current situation.
On the other hand, the mayor's secretariat has stated that the reshuffling of committee coordinators is a normal process. A member of the secretariat mentioned, “They have been committee coordinators for three years. It’s only fair to give others a chance, which is why the change has been made. There’s no need to make it a big issue.”
The secretariat also clarified that there is no personal retaliation against the ward chairpersons, as all are part of the same community. The reshuffling was done to provide equal opportunities to everyone, according to the secretariat.
Additionally, three ward chairpersons have rejected the responsibility of being appointed as committee coordinators by Mayor Balen Shah.
On Sunday, the newly appointed committee coordinators submitted a joint petition to Mayor Balen Shah, stating that it would not be appropriate to assume the roles unless the responsibilities are approved by an executive meeting.
Dal Bahadur Karki, Birendra Prajapati, and Binod Raj Bhandaari have all refused to accept their new roles.
Meanwhile, Rojina Shrestha, who was elected as a ward chairperson from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and was appointed by Mayor Shah as the coordinator of the Legislative Committee, has remained silent on the matter and has not given any public response regarding her new responsibility.
