Nepal’s comatose federalism

Subnational planning becomes impossible when the centre can pull the plug at will.

Nepal’s federal experiment is an ambitious attempt to address the country’s governance challenges. Emerging from the Maoist insurgency and consequential political evolution, it has progressed at some pace in keeping with the 2015 Constitution. Despite significant challenges and political disputes, constitutional governance since the 2017 local elections has instituted 753 local governments across Nepal and laid the foundations for a constitutional third tier of government besides the provincial and federal government.