Local Government in Nepal's Constitution 2015: Structure of Municipalities and Wards and the Exclusive Powers in Schedule 8

Local government is one of the most tested parts of the Constitution of Nepal for NEB students. In the Class 11 Constitutional Law paper it is a full unit, Local Level Government. In Social Studies and Life Skills for both Class 11 and Class 12 it sits in the unit on the constitution and civic awareness. The usual questions are "describe the structure of local government in Nepal", "explain the composition of the village executive and the municipal executive", and "list the exclusive powers of the local level".

This article sets out the constitutional provisions in the order the exam expects: the three tiers of the state, the local level institutions, their composition and term, the judicial committee, the district level, and the exclusive powers in Schedule 8. The unit notes and solved past questions are on the Local Level Government notes page.

Three tiers of the state

Article 56 of the Constitution of Nepal (2015, or 2072 BS) says the main structure of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal has three levels: the federation, the provinces and the local level. All three exercise state power as provided in the constitution and the law. The local level is listed as consisting of village bodies (gaunpalika, the rural municipalities), municipalities (nagarpalika) and district assemblies.

Nepal has 7 provinces, 77 districts and 753 local levels: 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities, divided into 6,743 wards. Metropolitan and sub-metropolitan cities are municipalities with higher population and infrastructure thresholds set by law; constitutionally they are municipalities.

Article 57 then distributes state power. The exclusive powers of the federation are in Schedule 5, of the provinces in Schedule 6, the concurrent powers of the federation and provinces in Schedule 7, the exclusive powers of the local level in Schedule 8, and the concurrent powers of all three levels in Schedule 9. Residual powers, meaning any matter not listed in any schedule, belong to the federation.

Local executive: Part 17

Article 214 vests the executive power of the local level in the village executive and the municipal executive, exercised under the constitution and federal and provincial law. The chairperson of the village executive and the mayor of the municipal executive lead their bodies.

Village executive (Article 215)

Municipal executive (Article 216)

A candidate must be a voter of that local level and at least 21 years of age. The term of office of the chairperson, vice-chairperson, mayor, deputy mayor and ward chairpersons is five years from the date of election. Every party fielding candidates for chairperson and vice-chairperson, or mayor and deputy mayor, must nominate a woman for one of the two posts, which is why a large share of deputy mayors and vice-chairpersons are women.

Judicial committee (Article 217)

Each local level has a three-member judicial committee to settle disputes under its jurisdiction, coordinated by the vice-chairperson in a rural municipality and the deputy mayor in a municipality, with two members elected by the assembly. It handles minor local disputes and mediation, which is the local level's small share of judicial work.

Local legislature: Part 18

Article 221 vests legislative power of the local level in the village assembly and the municipal assembly, within the matters in Schedules 8 and 9.

Composition of the assemblies (Articles 222 and 223)

The village assembly consists of the chairperson, vice-chairperson, the ward chairpersons, four members from each ward, and the Dalit or minority members of the executive. The municipal assembly consists of the mayor, deputy mayor, the ward chairpersons, four members from each ward, and the Dalit or minority members of the executive.

Each ward therefore elects five people: a ward chairperson and four ward members. Of the four ward members, at least two must be women, and one of those two must be a Dalit woman. This is the most direct form of representation in Nepal's constitution, and it is how a ward chairperson and ward committee at the neighbourhood level come to exist.

The assembly term is five years. The assembly makes local laws, passes the annual budget and plans, and holds the executive to account.

Ward structure

The ward is the lowest unit of the local level. The ward committee is made up of the ward chairperson and the four ward members. It does not have separate constitutional powers; it performs the functions delegated by local law, which in practice include issuing recommendations and certificates (birth, death, relationship, residence), collecting local data, implementing small projects and coordinating local services. The number of wards in each rural municipality or municipality is fixed by law, and each ward elects its own representatives.

District assembly and district coordination committee (Article 220)

Each district has a district assembly made up of the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the rural municipalities and the mayors and deputy mayors of the municipalities in the district. The assembly elects a district coordination committee of up to nine members: a chief, a deputy chief and up to seven members, with at least three women and at least one Dalit or minority member, for a term of five years. Its job is to coordinate between the local levels and between the local levels and the province, monitor development, and balance development across the district. It is not a government in its own right and has no exclusive powers.

Exclusive powers of the local level: Schedule 8

Schedule 8 lists 22 matters in which the local level has exclusive authority. In an exam, grouping them makes the list easier to recall and easier to mark.

The exam will not usually require all 22 word for word. Writing the groups with two or three examples in each shows both coverage and understanding. Write "Schedule 8 of the Constitution of Nepal lists 22 exclusive powers of the local level, including ..." and then give the grouped list.

Schedule 9 adds the concurrent powers shared by all three levels, including cooperatives, education, health, agriculture, electricity, water supply, irrigation, service fees, forests, wildlife, mines, disaster management, social security, personal events registration, archaeology and motor vehicle permits. A good answer distinguishes the two: in Schedule 8 matters the local level acts on its own law; in Schedule 9 matters it must act consistently with federal and provincial law.

Why local government matters in the constitution

The 2015 constitution replaced the unitary system, in which local bodies existed only by act of parliament and could be dissolved by it, with a federal system in which the local level is a constitutional tier with its own executive, legislature and exclusive powers. Local representatives serve a fixed five-year term, the local level has its own revenue sources and receives fiscal transfers, and services such as basic education and primary health are delivered at the level closest to the people. The provisions on women's and Dalit representation make the local level the most inclusive tier of elected government in Nepal.

Answer outline

For a 5-mark "structure of local government" question: the three tiers under Article 56, the three types of local level institution, the composition of the village and municipal executives, and the five-year term.

For a 10-mark question: add the assemblies and the ward (five elected per ward, two women, one Dalit woman), the judicial committee, the district assembly and coordination committee, and the grouped Schedule 8 powers with a sentence on Schedule 9.

Related units are Power Distribution Structure in the same Constitutional Law subject, and the constitution and civic awareness units of Social Studies for Class 11 and Class 12. For the exact wording of any article or schedule, use the official text of the Constitution of Nepal published by the Government of Nepal rather than a summary.