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The basic idea behind Nepal’s switch to federalism was to take the government to the people’s very doorsteps. But federalism also comes with bills attached, in terms of money and several other thorny issues. One can of course argue that decentralization can be a low-cost alternative to federalism in a medium-sized country like Nepal, making way for heated and (perhaps) never-ending discussions on the topic. But the country is unlikely to take a back-gear and hurtle toward decentralization, at least not in the immediate future. So, making federalism work will be the foremost challenge for our ruling elites. A feature of federalism is increased instances of conflict between different tiers of government. This of course does not mean the center has the license to ride roughshod against the will of local communities in their localities under the unitary system. Such a conflict can be over rights, responsibilities, natural resources and revenue sharing, among others. That feature is in full glare on the issue of waste management in the Kathmandu Valley, with the Kathmandu Metropolitan City refusing to collect waste from nerve centers of the federal government for a few days after Singha Durbar’s indifference toward its concerns. As if this row were not enough, Kakani rural municipality (Nuwakot district) and Dhuniveshi municipality (Dhading) have issued a 15-day ultimatum to concerned authorities to fulfill agreements reached earlier, warning that they won’t allow waste disposal at the landfill sites of Banchare Danda and Sisdole otherwise. Add to it increasing tensions in the province after the renaming of Province 1 as Koshi Province. In a province or other subordinate levels, different sections of populations can have different sets of interests, expectations and ambitions. Addressing all these concerns is not easy, to say the least. But the onus is on the center to maintain amity. As provincial and local governments grow more and more aware of the importance of local as well as inter-state resources like forests, mountains, rivers and streams for their survival and prosperity, instances of conflict between different tiers of government are likely to increase. But Singha Durbar (the Lion Palace) presiding over a young federal secular republic does not seem much aware of the challenges that lie ahead on the path of federalism. The Lion Palace should realize that the party time is long over. It should muster strength, show more compassion and govern rather than rule by learning lessons from the immediate neighborhood and beyond. After all, the onus is on this very place to make sure that things do not fall apart in a shaky republic.

Garbage management is one among many sectors of national life that is directly linked with the right to health, one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. Without an iota of doubt, it is the duty of the state to safeguard this and other fundamental rights. Without a doubt, this right is for both the people living at the sources of waste as well as those living close to waste disposal sites. But this right, like other fundamental rights, has remained largely on paper. Waste collection and disposal coming to a halt has ceased to be news despite its serious impact on public health, especially at a time when the threat of coronavirus and other health risks are lurking. Imagine, for example, the situation in the Kathmandu Valley, which is home to millions of people and produces 1, 200 tons of waste daily—15-20 percent of it is recyclable—when waste collection and disposal comes to a halt. Avoiding such a situation requires increased coordination and cooperation between different tiers of the government, including the federal government, Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the local government, communities living close to the disposal sites, political parties as well as security apparatuses. Without a seamless coordination and cooperation, waste management is bound to come to a halt, much to the detriment of a large population. Forget seamlessness in this crucial task, even working coordination and cooperation between the federal government and the KMC seems to be a far cry as a recent, much-publicized spat between Mayor Balen Shah and Singhadurbar shows. Citing indifference on the part of Singhadurbar toward concerns regarding waste management, Mayor Shah has made it loud and clear that KMC will not collect garbage from nerve centers of the state, namely Singhadurbar and the Presidential Palace, unless the center addresses KMC’s concerns. Singha Durbar, on its part, has deemed Shah’s move as irresponsible and reminded him of KMC’s responsibility. This episode has once again shown that garbage management is a multi-lane way requiring all sides to work together for an obstruction-free traffic movement. Apart from concerns of people at the source, people living around disposal sites also have their concerns related to public health and the environment. Addressing conflicting concerns may not be easy, but there’s no shortcut to this problem. More often than not, political parties have faced charges of politicizing issues surrounding garbage management for petty gains. The onus is on them to mend ways and raise genuine concerns of the public. Waste management in urban centers like the valley will require short-term, medium-term and long-term plans. The policy of reducing, reusing and recycling non-degradable waste may help mitigate the problem apart from the promotion of greener alternatives. For now, the onus is on the feuding parties to sit together and prevent the conflict from aggravating further, in the larger interest of the public.

Open sewer lines. People, including senior citizens, women and children, waiting in long queues for their turn. Discarded materials scattered in the entrails. Stinking toilets. Poor infrastructure. An utter absence of occupational health and safety measures. A perennial lack of human resources. Most importantly, mismanagement presiding over the chaos. Well, this is our diagnosis of two government-run hospitals—Civil Service Hospital and Bir Hospital. Let’s delve a little deeper into the matter. The recent ApEx report titled ‘Civil Service Hospital Crowded like a fair’ points that the 112-bed hospital has been serving more than 1,000 people daily, despite a chronic lack of infrastructure and human resources required to cater to a burgeoning crowd of patients. What’s more, there’s a long list of patients awaiting surgery, for months. The hospital administration remains upbeat, nonetheless. It hopes that many of these problems will be gone once its plan to develop a 10-storey building with 1,000 beds materializes. What’s hindering the ambitious project? The government’s inability to approve a budget for the same. Our diagnosis of Bir is that the country’s oldest hospital is also gravely ill. In the course of roughly two decades, the condition of the hospital’s main building has gone worse from bad, what with taps either broken or leaking, stinking loos that are literally open with bolts of the doors gone and tap water that is murky as the report titled Bir Hospital must change itself to deliver quality services points. Add to these spectacles people holding medical reports while assisting their sick relatives to walk, senior citizens sitting on the floor (for want of chairs) or wandering aimlessly wearing confused expressions on their faces, long queues outside counters and inadequate infrastructure for wheelchair-bound patients. Worryingly, the above-mentioned points are a pointer to a systemic disease. They show that the country’s public health system is seriously ill. Per records, 32,218 MBBS and BDS doctors, and 10,080 specialist doctors are registered with the Nepal Medical Council, while 73,889 nurses and 1,326 specialized nurses are registered with the Nepal Nursing Council. Many of these professionals have left the country in search of greener pastures. Summing up, the sorry state of affairs at the two hospitals paints an alarming picture of the public health system. While the medical fraternity has a crucial role to change things for the better, the government should play a lead role to fix the system before it’s too late. The focus should be on improving public health infrastructure and curbing the outflow of human resources associated with the sector.  

A couple of days ago, Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire made the headlines.  His remarks that Nepal’s journalists are for sale created some stir in the gradually calming waters of Nepal’s fourth estate. If getting media publicity was his intent, he should pat himself on his back.   Interestingly, the Speaker’s ‘quotable quote’ came during his meeting with a delegation from the Federation of Nepali Journalists that had gone all the way to the Parliament Secretariat last Friday to meet him.  The harsh remarks coming from Speaker Ghimire during a courtesy call perhaps show how disenchanted he is with the independent media.  Had it not been for ‘up for sale remarks’, the free media could have thanked itself, at least, for making the helmsman of one of the three organs of the state uncomfortable. The lion’s share of the credit would surely have gone to the FNJ. What a proud moment that would have been! Lambasting the remarks, FNJ demanded that the Speaker either substantiate the allegation or apologize for such irresponsible comments.  With no word coming from the Speaker since then, the chapter remains pretty open.  The Speaker is neither the only high-profile figure to attack the media, nor he will be the last. Not so long ago, it was on the cross-hairs of an up-and-coming politician. Before him too, many politicians have spared no opportunity to target the media.    Whenever such attacks come from vantage points, the independent media faces increased hostilities on social media and much beyond, putting media houses and journalists associated with them at heightened risks. The media has seen it all, in Nepal and beyond.    While the Speaker should have been more specific instead of coming up with a generalized remark against the entire fraternity, his remarks should prompt some soul-searching.  How effective has the FNJ been when it comes to playing the role of the umbrella organization of journalists? What can it do to raise genuine concerns of journalists related to their safety, security and livelihoods more powerfully? Have its office-bearers indeed been playing apolitical roles, snapping their umbilical cords with political parties of different hues and shades? Introspection makes more sense at a time when the free press is facing increased threats in the region and much beyond, from the state and non-state actors enjoying the support of the government, in many cases.  Soul-searching should not end there, though. High officials like the Speaker have it in their powers to make the state more accountable to the public. As the permanent opposition, the free media can play a crucial role in this, especially in times of soaring inflation and plummeting faith in the state.  Some management Guru has rightly said: If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.