Presentation and Discussion Program on Preliminary Findings of the Study on the Legislative Process and Its Implementation at the Local Level

Policy Research Institute, Narayanhiti

The Policy Research Institute (PRI) organized a presentation and discussion program on the preliminary findings of a study titled “Legislative Process and Its Implementation Status at the Local Level.” The study is being conducted by the Centre for Governance and Federal Affairs Policy Studies under PRI, in response to a request from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. It aims to examine the law-making procedures followed by local governments and assess their implementation in the context of local, provincial, and federal legal frameworks.

The event brought together representatives from various local governments, associations of rural municipalities and municipalities, District Coordination Committees, and federal ministries. Dr. Hari Sharma Nepane, Senior Research Fellow at the PRI, welcomed the participants, and Dr. Mukti Rijal, the leader of the study team and a Senior Research Fellow at the PRI, presented the preliminary findings and moderated the discussion.

In his presentation, Dr. Rijal outlined the conceptual framework of the research, which focuses on pre-legislative inputs, legislative processes, and post-legislative outcomes. He then elaborated on the methodology, data analysis, and the findings.  A concurrent mixed-method approach was employed, involving qualitative data from 39 focus group discussions across 13 local levels and quantitative data from 81 citizens. The study explores the existing legal arrangements at the local level, identifies challenges in the legislative process, and evaluates the implementation status of local laws.

Key highlights from Dr. Rijal’s presentation included:

• Provincial laws guiding local legislative processes
• Number of laws enacted by the studied local governments
• Legal practices in pre-legislative, legislative, and post-legislative phases
• Citizens’ perceptions of local law-making processes
• Contextual factors affecting the implementation of laws at the local level

The presentation concluded with preliminary findings and policy recommendations. Following the presentation, participants provided feedback and shared insights. Suggestions included reviewing the study’s sample size and case study, as well as considering an expanded scope to reflect PRI’s institutional perspective. Concerns were also raised regarding the conflict of laws of three-tier governments governing legislative and policy implementation processes at the local level.

Closing the session, Executive Chairperson Prof. Dr. Sharma expressed gratitude for the valuable input and affirmed that participants’ suggestions would be considered in the final refinement of the study.

Note by: Soniya Bashyal
Photo credit: Ayushka K.C.

Invited Participants:
Ganga Dutta Awasthi (Member, National Planning Commission)
Chiranjivi Khanal (Former Secretary, Nepal Law Commission)
Ambika Rai (Undersecretary, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers)
Rajendra Prasad Adhikari (Undersecretary, Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Lumbini Province)
Rajeshwari Sapkota (Undersecretary, National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission)
Hari Prasad Poudel (Section Officer, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration)
Aasra Vaidya (Section Officer, Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs)
Surya Bahadur Kunwar (Section Officer, Ministry of Finance)
Bhimkant Nyaupane (Section Officer, Ministry of Finance)
Chup Bahadur Thapa (Executive Director, Centre for Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Nepal)
Anil Kumar Gupta (Deputy Director of Studies, Nepal Administrative Staff College)
Chakrapani Sharma (Independent Researcher)
Bharat Kumar Bhattarai (Executive Director, Association of District Coordination Committees Nepal)
Rupanarayan Dhakal (Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, National Association of Rural Municipalities in Nepal)
Ganesh Bahadur K.C. (Chairperson, Mahankal Rural Municipality, Lalitpur)
Bir Bahadur Lopchan (Chairperson, Bagmati Rural Municipality, Lalitpur)
Ukesh Kawan (Ward Chairperson, Bhaktapur Municipality Ward No. 7)
Rabindra Adhikari (Mayor’s Secretariat, Budhanilkantha Municipality)
Nagendra Sapkota (Reporter, Gorkhapatra)
Purushottam Khatri (Senior Reporter, The Rising Nepal)

Policy Research Institute
Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma (Executive Chairperson)
Laxman Prasad Bhattarai (Office Manager)
Dr. Hari Sharma Nyaupane (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Khag Nath Adhikari (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Deepak Kumar Khadka (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Kalpana Khanal (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Mohan Kumar Sharma (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Giriraj Sharma (Research Fellow)
Dr. Subash Adhikari (Research Fellow)
Dr. Niranjan Devkota (Research Fellow)
Dr. Pradeep Panthi (Research Fellow)
Dr. Manita Kusi (Associated Research Fellow)
Dr. Maheshwar Giri (Associated Research Fellow)
Soniya Bashyal (Analyst)
Bimal Chandra Sharma (Library Management Coordinator)
Parbat Bhattarai (Senior Assistant)
Milan Shrestha (Senior Assistant)
Ayushka K.C. (Intern)
Ashish Bhandari (Intern)
Dhiraj Bhatta (Intern)
Balihang Limbu (Intern)
Bijaya Koirala (Intern)
Snehi Rijal (Intern)
Satish Sapkota (Intern)

Study Team (Centre for Governance and Federal Affairs Policy Studies)
Dr. Mukti Ram Rijal (Senior Research Fellow)
Ashok Pandey (Research Fellow)
Keshav Prasad Bhattarai (Consultant)