KATHMANDU: The forest staffers are yet to be stationed at 753 local bodies even after about 18 months of local body elections.
The local bodies constitute forest, environment and land protection sections while the forest and biodiversity, and forest and hydro units are provisioned there.
The forest staffers are yet to be relocated yet even after implementation of federalism following the elections of three tiers of government. The local body elections were held in three phases, 2017 May, June and September respectively.
The forest policy and structure sub-committee reported that the staffers were not enough to meet the requirement quota even in province level. The local bodies have been facing acute crunch of forest staffers.
The forest policy and structure sub-committee recommended under-secretary as official at Metropolitan and Sub-Metropolitan Cities while forest and environment rangers are recommended to head the forest offices at Rural Municipalities. However, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration can assign only 429 forest officials at the local levels, according to under-secretary Rakesh Karna of Department of Forest and Land Protection.
The Department of Forest and Land Protection proposed the Ministry of Forests and Environment five forest officials at metropolitan and sub-metropolitan cities, four in municipalities and three in rural municipalities.
Mayor Ashok Kumar Byanju, central president of Nepal Municipal Association, said that the forest and environment works in the local bodies are halted after the government failed to send the staffers.
“Short of staffers has hampered the forest and environment protection, planning, program operation and coordination and partnership of users committees,” said Byanju. “Though some local bodies attempted to formulate forest and environment policies, it has been affected due to delay of law formula.
