The people of every democratic state have the right to expect basic public services from the government. Moreover, with significant political change in the country, Nepali people, especially from the remote areas, have developed huge expectations from both the central and local governments. Their hopes have soared even more since the country decided to go federal. Unfortunately, there is a huge gap between people’s expectations and the delivery of public services.

The expectations and needs of the people from the remote areas are mostly limited to basic services for sustaining their livelihood such as drinking water, food security, road facilities and education, along with some developmental activities. But the government bodies have failed to address these needs.

A VDC in Kalikot

For instance, the Dhaulagoha VDC in Kalikot is populated with 7,111 people (50.30 percent male and 49.61 percent female) but there is no road or any other modern infrastructure in the area. The whole VDC has only 85 irregular water taps, one high school, and one health post. Most of the people in the VDC transport goods from the district headquarters by carrying them on their back and walking for almost two whole days, as they cannot afford to pay Rs30 to 35 per kg to use a mule. Various reports from different institutions reveal that among the five districts of the Karnali zone, Kalikot gets the highest amount of government budget. But no concerned body has tried to find out where the amount has been spent and how.

Aamkoila Rokaya from the VDC believes that she is illiterate and incapable of leading a fulfilled life because of the lack of roads, schools and other infrastructure in the area. So she feels the government has been biased and unjust to the people of her village. Almost everyone in the VDC has a similar story to tell. It is evident that owing to the lack of public services, the people of the VDC are struggling to survive. Due to the state’s apathy, not only is it difficult for the people to sustain their livelihood but their faith in the government is also eroding. Failure to provide adequate public services despite the budget allocation raises serious questions about the work of the local and central governments.

Autonomous structures

The activities of formulating and implementing development plans come under the responsibility of the local government. The local government officials are there to use the budget to address the needs of the people in the region as stated in the Local Self Governance Act (LSGA), 1999. The fact that people are suffering from general inefficiency, inaccessibility and insensitivity of the  local authorities is appalling. Even if the officials are present in the offices, they do not make appropriate and adequate efforts to provide services. And when they are unable to provide services, they do not explain to the people the reason behind it. Officials often excuse themselves by saying that they are bound by certain rules and regulations or lack the required authority, even though they have been appointed precisely to fulfil the needs of the people. Similarly, the Chief District Office and Local Development Office are the most powerful and autonomous bodies in any district as mentioned in the LSGA, but they are not using their power and authority to improve the situation of the local people. Expectations for better services have become a kind of mirage for the people as the services they need are nowhere in sight and the responsible bodies are not making any visible efforts.

Hence, there clearly is a significant gap between the service providers and the service seekers, or between the duty bearers and the right holders. People are losing faith in both the central and local governments, leading to a rapid erosion of trust towards the government structures and their performance. Even though LSGA mentions that local government structures are autonomous, this has not been the case in practice. It is quite probable that the budget received by these bodies is being misused. It is urgent to improve the roles and responsibilities of the local level officials to meet the needs of the local people.

Lamsal holds a master’s in Sociology from Tribhuvan University