Federalism & Localization Centre

Dialogue Details

Intergovernmental Dialogue: Strengthening Federalism for a Resilient Nepal

Interaction Program On Intergovernmental Dialogue: Strengthening Federalism for a Resilient Nepal

The Federalism and Localization Center (FLC), in collaboration with the Provincial Center for Good Governance (PCGG) of Bagmati Province, organized a Federalism Strengthening Dialogue program on March 22, 2025 (Chaitra 9, 2081), at Staff College, Lalitpur.

The program saw the esteemed presence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR), Right Honorable Mr. Dev Raj Ghimire, and Deputy Speaker, Honorable Ms. Indira Rana. Also in attendance were Chief Whip of the ruling party, Mr. Mahesh Kumar Bartaula; Chief Whip of the main opposition party, Mr. Hitraj Pandey; Chief Whip of Nepali Congress, Mr. Shyam Ghimire; Chief Whip of Rastriya Swatantra Party, Mr. Santosh Pariyar; Leader of Unified Socialist and Chairperson of the Education Committee, Mr. Amar Bahadur Thapa; Chief Whip of Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, Ms. Rekha Yadav; and Chief Whip of Janamat Party, Ms. Anita Devi. These distinguished leaders participated in the program and shared their thoughts.

The event was enriched by the participation of the Chief Minister of Bagmati Province, several MPs from the HoR, Ministers and MPs from Bagmati Province, Chairs and the General Secretary from local government associations, as well as the Chair of the Mayors' Association, mayors, and deputy mayors, among others.

During the event, all representatives voiced their concerns regarding the challenges faced by provincial and local governments in strengthening federalism. The discussions underscored the critical role of collaboration and dialogue in addressing these pressing issues.

The event started with two papers presented that set the tone of the event. Chairperson of FLC Dr. Khim Lal Devkota presented a paper that intended to inform the participants, all of them representatives, about the power sharing, intergovernmental relations and way-forward in strengthening federalism. His evidence-based paper laid out the need of sharing power and resources can go a long way in deepening and strengthening federalism. Further, Mr. Chiribabu Maharjan, the Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City shared from his experiences the constructive approach that can be taken to achieve progress and collaborate with other levels of the government.

The speakers from the ruling government and from the oppositions, both, highlighted the need to strengthen federalism, address long standing issues that are coming in the ways of allowing federalism to function. The Chief Minister stated that building a nation requires a multipronged approach and urged that we have to go beyond the narrow scopes of our respective domains of work and positions. As a Chief Minister I should be mindful of the limitations of the other two levels of the state and the same applies to all the other members.

Internal Affairs (Home and Law Minister of Bagmati Province), Mr. Suraj Chandra Lamichhane reasserted that the federal government hasn’t given us the due power that we are expected and entitled to receive. Likewise, the President of Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN) and the General Secretary of National Association of Rural Municipalities (NARMIN) Mr. Bhim Prasad Dhungana and Mr. Khim Bahadur Thapa, respectively highlighted the need of the Chief Whips and Whips of political parties in the opposition should lobby for the rights of provincial and local governments and the political parties in the federal government must be discharge their responsibilities of allowing the local governments to work in the manner the constitution envisions their role.

The program started with welcoming remarks by Mr. Gopal Krishna Neupane, Executive Director of Provincial Center for Good Governance (PCGG) Bagmati Province. The event was facilitated under the collaborative banner of FLC and PCGG Bagmati Province and was successfully concluded with a shared understanding of taking actions that takes the nation towards strengthened federal system.