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The people’s representatives and the Deputy Mayor of Itahari Sub-metropolitan City have filed a writ in the High Court, Biratnagar, demanding a mandamus order to hold an Executive meeting, citing that Mayor Hemkarna Paudel had not conducted the meeting. Umesh Subedi, Ward Chairperson of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City-3, stated that the writ was filed on September 23 by the Chairpersons of 15 wards and executive committee members, including Deputy Mayor Sangita Kumari Chaudhary. Ward Chairperson Subedi added that they had to approach the court after Mayor Hemkarna Paudel ignored their request to hold an executive meeting, despite their appeal at the Itahari Sub-Metropolitan Office on September 12. Deputy Mayor Sangita Kumari Chaudhary of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City stated that the executive meeting, essential for effectively implementing the policies and programs for the current financial year, has not yet taken place, even after two months of the financial year started.

The people’s representatives allege that despite public interest and concerns regarding issues related to Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City being raised in the media and on social networks, the mayor continues to ignore these matters and has not called for an executive meeting. Additionally, Mayor Paudel of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City has undermined the role of the executive by avoiding the holding of an executive meeting. This behavior is seen as a violation of sub-section (1) of section 17 of the Local Government Operation Act, 2017, as well as the code of conduct for meetings approved by the executive. Despite public representatives submitting a memorandum to Mayor Hemkarn Paudel requesting an executive meeting on September 15, 2024, he has not called the meeting.

The people’s representatives have called for an executive meeting to discuss several key issues, including the payment for schemes completed in the last financial year, the salaries and allowances of employees, the purchase of electric buses, the acquisition of a CT scan machine for Itahari Hospital, and a review of the financial year 2023-2024.

Sangita Kumari Chaudhary, along with various ward chairpersons, including Madhav Koirala of Itahari-2, Umesh Subedi of Ward-3, Bhakta Lama of Ward-4, Bhishma Ghimire of Ward-5, Devnarayan Chaudhary of Ward-7, Jitendra Thapa of Ward-9, Awadhesh Chaudhary of Ward-10, Keshav Prasad Koirala of Ward-11, Bhuwanraj Pokharel of Ward-12, Ramesh Prasad Chaudhary of Ward-13, Ramesh Prasad Chaudhary of Ward-14, Jayanarayan Chaudhary of Ward-15, Tejnarayan Chaudhary of Ward-16, Prabhat Kumar Acharya of Ward-17, Ramkumar Chaudhary of Ward-18, and Srinarayan Chaudhary of Ward-19, were among the representatives who filed a writ against Mayor Poudel in the High Court in Biratnagar. Similarly, among the executive members who filed the writ are Manbahadur Bishwakarma, Bhimadevi Rai, and Bhimakumari Tumbhamphe.

 

 

Jaya Krishna Yadav