Opinion | Nepal’s comatose federalism
Summary
Nepal's federalism faces challenges with fiscal constraints and administrative inefficiency, resulting in diminished provincial autonomy and underutilization of budgets, undermining the intended benefits of devolution.
Key Points
- Nepal's federalism has established 753 local governments but struggles due to fiscal imbalances and resource governance issues.
- Provincial governments face declining budgets and over-dependence on federal grants with stringent conditions limiting autonomy.
- Local governments also experience financial constraints with increasing conditional grants restricting community priorities.
- Under-spending of provincial and local budgets evidences administrative challenges and weak execution undermining service delivery.
