With the federal government’s continued reluctance to adjust the police force at the provincial level, the internal affairs ministers from all the provinces are planning to visit Kathmandu to put pressure on the Pushpa Kamal Dahal government.

Chairing the National Coordination Council meeting on February 7, Prime Minister Dahal had assured the chief ministers that the adjustment process would be completed within a month. But four months down the line, Dahal has taken no step towards implementing his commitment, prompting the provinces to exert pressure on the federal government.

“The federal system will be incomplete so long as the provinces don’t have their own police force and civil servants,” Bimala Ansari, internal affairs minister in Madhesh Province, told the Post. “The provinces are fed up with the hollow commitments. Once the budget endorsement process is complete, we will be in Kathmandu to demand our constitutional rights.”

Ansari said she is in talks with the internal affairs ministers from other provinces and all have agreed to jointly put forward their demands before the federal government in the next two to three weeks. Discussions on the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 continue in all the provinces.

Dinesh Panthi, internal affairs minister in Lumbini Province, said it is unfortunate that the provinces haven’t got to exercise their constitutional authority even after seven years since the provincial governments were first formed. “Implementation of the constitution is the responsibility as well as the liability of the federal government,” Panthi told the Post. “I don’t think there is any further justification to delay the adjustment of the police force.”

Successive governments have ignored the provinces’ repeated calls to adjust the police force at the provincial level and promulgate the federal civil service law. To build pressure on Kathmandu, the Madhesh provincial assembly unanimously endorsed a resolution motion on December 6 last year, stating that provinces should be allowed to exercise all the authorities delegated to them by Schedule 6 of the Constitution of Nepal.

Led by Saroj Yadav, then chief minister, a team comprising leaders from all the parties presented the resolution motion to Dahal on December 10. Back then, Dahal had sought two weeks to resolve the matter. But he never acted on his commitment.

Schedule 6 of the Constitution of Nepal lists 21 exclusive authorities of the provincial governments. Maintaining law and order and having its own provincial police is the first authority on the list. Article 268 (2) also states that each province will have its own police force. Likewise, Clause 3 of the Article says matters relating to the operation, supervision and coordination of functions to be discharged by the Nepal Police and the provincial police shall be as provided for in the federal law.

The federal parliament in 2019 endorsed the Police Personnel Adjustment Act and the Act to Govern the Operation, Supervision and Coordination of Nepal Police and Provincial Police Forces. Similarly, all the provinces have endorsed their respective provincial police laws to clear legal hurdles in overseeing their police forces.

However, they cannot set up police forces unless the federal government adjusts the existing police force at the provincial level. This has to happen as per the Act endorsed by Parliament in 2019.

The Police Personnel Adjustment Act authorises the federal government to assign a deputy inspector general of Nepal Police to serve as provincial police chief. The federal government can transfer such police officers to other provinces or any department of Nepal Police in consultation with the concerned provincial governments.

However, in case of other personnel adjusted to provincial police forces, the relevant provincial official can transfer such personnel to any police unit in the province. Ignoring repeated demands of the provinces, successive federal governments have hesitated to implement the Police Personnel Adjustment Act.

Similarly, provincial governments have not been able to recruit civil servants either because Kathmandu has yet to promulgate a federal civil service law.

“Securing our constitutional authority will be our sole focus once the budget gets through the provincial assembly,” Ansari, the Madhesh minister, said. “We are ready to go to any extent to do so.”