Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses

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    Decentralized municipal government for successful urban development in Nepal
    Karna, Suman Kumar ( 2004)
    Decentralization in Nepal's absolute monarchy system, which ended in the 1990s, was used as a tool for creating a monolithic, impenetrable political power structure in the country by extending the political base of the regime and by propagating its "partyless" character right down to the local settlement level. The 1990 constitution proclaims to involve more and more citizens in governance through the process of decentralization, for equitable distribution of the benefits of democracy across the nation. Subsequently, the Local Self-governance Act (LSGA) 1999 facilitated the process of decentralization, with greater authority and responsibilities going to local governments, and this has the potential to increase urban productivity and to enable conditions for more sustainable urban development. The central question pursued in this research relates to the relative roles of three sets of factors in accounting for the effectiveness of local self-governance, and thereby of local development in the great diversity of local government areas of Nepal, and to the interactions between those three sets of factors. The factors or conditions are: 1) the distribution of authority and power (both guaranteed in law and delegated), 2) the quality of local leadership (dependent on vision or the quality of ideas, the ability to communicate such ideas and to have them popularly embraced, and on political stability), and 3) available resources (both financial and linked to the nature of the area). The exploration of this question was effected through broad observations of the system and its evolution since 1999, and more specifically by detailed study of 14 of Nepal's 58 constituted municipalities. The introduction of LSGA 1999 did not only offer solutions to municipal problems, but also and in contrast it has added several fresh challenges and sometimes confusions and contradictions in the management of local development on the ground. The distribution of authority and . power at different levels of both elected representatives and municipal staff is inappropriate and dysfunctional and that is damaging the growth of municipalities. It is the likely reason behind larger conflicts and slow progress in municipal development of Nepal. Leadership in municipalities is generally weak and ineffective and leaders lack confidence in developing a vision which can be shared among all potential stake-holders. A significant though variable resource gap is the reality for a majority of municipalities studied while exploitation of new revenue opportunities provided by the new Act is inhibited by low levels of both leadership, vision in resource planning, and skills in implementation. The findings revealed that the institutional structure of municipalities needs reform to enable them to work based on their fullest potential. Municipalities possess weak capacity (administrative, managerial, and technical) which is far below the required standard, and this is mainly because of inappropriate selection processes for local staff, and simultaneously their poor education and training facilities. Introduction of the new Act has added to the responsibility of central government as their role in strengthening the overall capacity of municipalities is vital. Political parties too have to reorient their involvement in municipal government and play a more strategic role in producing local leaders who are smart players in local development, including in the political skills of mobilising local support and participation. Participation takes on special significance in the changed environment and thus needs to be practised in all sectors, including to enhance the resource mobilization prospects of municipalities.