After years of legal and political wrangling, the Nepal government has finally decided to retain Rukumkot as the permanent headquarters of Rukum East district.

A Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday confirmed that the district centre will remain in Rukumkot, located in Wards 5 and 6 of Sisne Rural Municipality.

A government minister confirmed the decision, stating, “The headquarters of Rukum (East) will remain where it currently is.” The move brings closure to a dispute that began in 2017 following the administrative restructuring that split the former Rukum district into East and West.

The controversy over the headquarters began after Rukumkot was initially designated as the temporary district centre in October 2017. Just four months later, on January 29, 2018, the then Sher Bahadur Deuba-led Cabinet attempted to shift the headquarters to Golkhada in Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality, some 20 km away.

This decision triggered immediate backlash. On January 31, 2018, a writ petition was filed at the Supreme Court, which promptly issued an interim order halting the government’s move and maintaining the status quo.

Despite the court’s intervention, tensions in the region continued to simmer, with both Rukumkot and Golkhada residents staging protests at various times. Supporters from both sides held rallies demanding recognition of their respective towns as the official headquarters.

On September 3, 2023, a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, led by then Chief Justice Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, issued a mandamus order nullifying the government’s earlier decision to shift the headquarters to Golkhada. The verdict instructed the government to designate a headquarters based on clear standards and rationale.

While the ruling resolved the immediate legal dispute, it left open the question of where the headquarters should ultimately be located. This allowed renewed lobbying efforts from Golkhada and surrounding areas, which pushed for an alternative to Rukumkot.