Surkhet, July 24
Chairperson of the Chaukune Rural Municipality in Surkhet district has decided to buy a motorbike for each of ward chairpersons of the Rural Municipality in a bid to make works of local leaders easy.
Dhir Bahadur Shahi says motorcycles for local leaders are more necessary than ambulance for the entire Rural Municipality.
“It is not possible to commute on public vehicles for errands,” he says, “Ambulances do not carry staff. Therefore, we are buying motorbikes.”
Recently, the Rural Municipal Council has decided to allocate Rs 2.25 million to purchase bikes out of Rs 309.5 million it received from the government for this year.
Rs 1 million is spent in purchasing bikes for the Rural Municipality itself whereas Rs 1.25 million for wards, according to Shahi.
Many locals, however, have protested the decision claiming it was an abuse of the state coffers. They have demanded that the decision be corrected.
The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development has been repeatedly warning local bodies not to make haphazard decisions on programmes and budget before required laws are made. However, the local leaders have been accusing the Ministry of intervening into their authority.
