Successful enforcement of federalism is still awaited: CM Pandey

Gandaki, Sept 3: Chief Minister of Gandaki Province, Surendra Raj Pandey, has said a 'centralised mentality' poses a significant hurdle to a successful implementation of federalism.     

Opening a workshop on "10 years of federal journey, practices, and achievements (implementation of federalism from the perspective of provincial government)" organised by the Pokhara University here today, the Chief Minister said the province government struggled to address the citizens' expectations due to a delay in enactment of laws demanded by the Constitution and the lack of identification of needs and priorities.     

"The absence of laws to be enacted by the federal government has added challenges for the province government to address needs of citizens amidst the limited resources. As a result, the implementation of federalism has turned further complicated," he said.     

Gandaki Province Policy and Planning Commission's Vice-Chair Dr Krishna Chandra Devkota, however, claimed transformative changes in various aspects in the province in the aftermath of the federalism.     

Matthias Meier, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Switzerland, viewed Nepal is working to ensure the effective implementation of federalism while University's Registrar, associate professor Dr Ajay Thapa said the programme aimed to foster discourse on strengthening federalism in practice.     

Former Chief Secretary Dr Somlal Subedi echoed the need for political priorities and willingness on the part of the political parties as well as administrative initiations and skills for the effective enforcement of the federalism.     

He pressed the need for controlling fragmented projects and increasing investment in productive sector. (RSS)