Constitutional Law · Chapter 8
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
Under the Constitution of Nepal 2015 the local level is the third tier of the federal structure. It is the government closest to the people. There are 753 local units across the country. These are rural municipalities and municipalities. Municipalities include metropolitan and sub-metropolitan cities. Local government is the cornerstone of self-governance (स्वशासन). It brings decision-making and service delivery down to the village and town level. Its special importance is simple. It is the tier the ordinary citizen meets most often. The local unit, not the distant capital, registers a birth. It repairs a local road. It supplies drinking water. So the quality of local government is felt directly in daily life.
Each local unit has a legislature. In a rural municipality this is a village assembly. In a municipality it is a municipal assembly. Each local unit also has an executive to run its affairs. A rural municipality (गाउँपालिका) is headed by a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson. A municipality (नगरपालिका) is headed by a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor. The local unit is divided into wards. Each ward has a ward chairperson and ward members. They are elected. They form part of the assembly. The assembly is made up of these elected representatives. It is the local law-making and policy body. The executive is headed by the chairperson or mayor. It carries out the assembly's decisions. For example, in a municipality the municipal assembly passes the local budget and local laws. Then the Mayor and the executive put them into effect across the wards. So both policy-making and administration are present at the local level.
The office-bearers of the local level are chosen by direct election. The people of the local unit vote for them. These office-bearers are the chairperson, vice-chairperson, mayor, deputy mayor, and the ward chairpersons and ward members. The Election Commission conducts these elections. Their normal term is five years. The Constitution and law make local government inclusive. They require the representation of women and Dalit women among the ward-level members. So the local body is not dominated by a single group. Direct election at the local level makes this tier genuinely a form of self-rule. The mayor and ward members owe their office directly to the local voters. So they remain answerable to the very people whose roads, water and services they manage. This gives the citizen real influence over everyday governance.
The local level uses the powers on the exclusive local list. It also uses the concurrent lists of the Constitution. Its functions include making local law and policy. It prepares and passes the local budget. It raises local taxes and fees. It delivers basic services. These include local roads, drinking water, sanitation, basic health and basic education. It registers vital events such as births, deaths and marriages. It manages local markets, agriculture and disaster response. It preserves local culture and the environment. It is closest to the people. So it is best placed to identify and solve everyday needs quickly. Consider a village where a footbridge has been washed away. The local government can plan it, budget for it and build its replacement. It can do this far faster than a request routed through the provincial or federal government. That is exactly the advantage of placing such powers at the local level.
A distinctive feature of the local level is the judicial committee (न्यायिक समिति). Each local unit has a three-member judicial committee. It is coordinated by the Deputy Mayor in a municipality. In a rural municipality it is coordinated by the Vice-Chairperson. Two members are chosen from among the members of the assembly. The committee settles certain local disputes and petty matters. These are within the jurisdiction given to it by law. Examples are minor civil disputes over boundaries, water use, wages and small claims. It works through a process that emphasises mediation and reconciliation (मेलमिलाप). It cannot try serious criminal cases. Those remain with the regular courts. Its decisions are subject to appeal to the ordinary courts. Suppose two neighbours fall into dispute over the boundary line between their fields. They do not have to file a costly case in the District Court. They can bring the matter to the judicial committee. The committee hears both sides. It helps them reach an agreed settlement in their own locality. In this way the judicial committee brings justice closer to the people. It reduces the burden on the courts. It lets local disputes be resolved quickly, cheaply and amicably within the community.