— Jeebachha Shaha

Jeebachha Shaha is the former chairman of Phulbariya VDC of Siraha district. Located along the East-west highway near Lahan city, the VDC with the total population of 15,000 population is relatively free of Maoist activities. Shaha spoke to SANJAYA DHAKAL about the issues related to local bodies. Excerpt

What sorts of development activities had you carried out during your tenure?

I had been able to construct 4.5 kilometer of graveled road within my VDC. Electrification could be completed in six out of nine wards. We were in the process of upgrading one lower secondary school to the secondary level. However, of late the process of constructing classes for grade 9 and 10 remains incomplete. There are now 4 primary and one secondary school in my VDC. These were apart the regular service delivery works.

How were they affected in the last two years?

It is anybody’s guess. Surely the secretaries appointed by the government are not going to be as accountable and responsible as elected persons. They are far away and removed from the local people – which is totally against the spirit of local governance. The secretaries are primarily responsible to the government and they do whatever they are ordered to do by the higher ranking officials. They have nothing to do with the people and their problems.

Do you think there were irregularities during the absence of elected representatives in the local bodies?

Yes, there were extensive irregularities. Take for instance the system of getting approval from the Village or District Council before carrying out development works. After the dissolution of the elected local bodies, the council now has been confined to LDOs, secretaries and few technicians. In fact, three persons – an LDO, a secretary and a technician an now effectively work as council for the village and approve/reject any project. There is nobody to monitor how judiciously they are working. If they collude, they can easily embezzle precious resources.

What could be the way out?

We should not sit with our hands folded laying blame on the conflict alone. We should start working for that section of people who are suffering the most. Till the elections could be held, restoration of formerly elected representatives through invoking the legitimate provision of extending their tenure would be the best option. Obviously, the elected representatives have a lot at stake and are better placed to address people’s problems together with being fully accountable. More devolution is also needed. But that has to be accompanied by capacity-building package.