Provincial Governments

Following a power-sharing deal reached among the ruling coalition partners, all the seven provinces have now new chief ministers. On Wednesday, chief ministers were appointed in Madhes, Lumbini and Karnali Provinces. Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP)'s Saroj Yadav, CPN-UML's Lila Giri, CPN-Maoist Centre's Raj Kumar Sharma and UML's Rajendra Rawal have been entrusted with the responsibility of chief ministers for Madhes, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces, respectively. As per the agreement struck among governing CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Centre, JSP and Janamat Party, the process of appointing chief ministers has been accomplished. Province 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Provinces had got heads of the provincial governments earlier this week. CPN-UML’s Hikmat Kumar Karki, Maoist Centre’s Shalik Ram Jammakattel and UML’s Khaga Raj Adhikari had been appointed chief ministers of Province 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province, respectively. The chief ministers are now working on giving a full shape to their respective governments.

According to the deal, CM Karki will head the provincial government for five years while in Madhes Province, JSP and Janamat Party are to lead the government for two and a half years each. Likewise, UML and Maoist Centre will head governments in Bagmati Province for two and a half years each. However, UML is to lead the government for full five years in Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces. And Maoist Centre will head the government for five years in Karnali Province. Similarly, in Sudurpaschim Province, UML and Maoist Centre will head the government for two and a half years each. In Nepal, the provinces are ruled by provincial governments which form the second level of governance after the federal government. In accordance with Part 13 of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, the provincial government is formed under the leadership of the parliamentary party leader of the party with the majority or the highest number of seats in the Provincial Assembly. 

The country has witnessed these provincial governments for the second time after the establishment of federal democratic republican system. In line with the constitutional provision, chief ministers in each province have to receive a vote of confidence from the concerned Provincial Assembly. As the provincial legislature, the Provincial Assembly can force the chief minister to resign with a vote of no confidence. The provincial governments have their distinct jurisdictions as provided by the constitution. They have a crucial role to play in institutionalising the nascent federal system of governance and improving service delivery mechanism. Besides, they have to coordinate and collaborate with the federal government and the local ones. Part 20 of the present constitution mentions about interrelations between federal, provincial and local governments. Article 231 of the constitution describes the legislative interrelations between federal and provinces. Article 232 of the statute says that the relations between the federal, provinces and local level shall be based on the principles of cooperation, coexistence and coordination.

There is a constitutional provision of an inter-provincial council to deal with issues in order to enhance relations between the centre and the provinces. However, the provincial governments do not have right to collect taxes. They can extract only service charges. In such a situation, they are bound to depend on the federal government for financial resources to implement various social and other development activities. In the past, some of the provincial governments were criticised for corruption and failure to carry out their responsibilities as per aspirations of people. Anyway, with stability, all provincial governments are expected to function smoothly without making room for the public to point their finger at them.