A gaunpalika ( ne, गाउँपालिका, lit=rural municipality, translit=Gāum̐pālikā ) is an administrative division in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development dissolved the existing village development committees and announced the establishment of this new local body. It is a sub-unit of a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. There are currently 460 rural municipalities.

History

The village development committee was the previous governing body of

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

s in Nepal. They were replaced on 10 May 2017 by the rural municipalities which were formed by combining different VDCs. The decision was taken by the cabinet of Nepal after modifications in the report proposed by the Local Level Restructuring Commission. Initially 481 rural municipalities were formed but it was later changed to 460 municipalities. According to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development the new bodies were to be called "rural municipality" and not "village council" which was the literal translation of the word "gaunpalika".

Structure and responsibilities

As defined by Part 17 of the

Constitution of Nepal Constitution of Nepal 2015 ( ne, नेपालको संविधान २०७२) is the present governing Constitution of Nepal. Nepal is governed according to the Constitution which came into effect on 20 September 2015, replacing the ...

, the rural municipalities are governed by a village executive headed by a

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. The village executive consists of the deputy chairperson, ward chairpersons elected from each ward in the rural municipality, and four women members elected from among members of the Village Assembly and two members from the

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

or other minority communities. Part 18 of the

states that the Village Assembly hold all legislative powers of the rural municipality. It consists of the chairperson, deputy chairperson, ward chairpersons and four ward members elected from each of the wards in the rural municipality out of which at least two must be women The members of the Dalit or minority community nominated to the Village Executive is also a member of the Village Assembly. Part 17 also includes provisions for a Judicial Committee which is headed by the deputy chairperson and consists of two other members elected by the Village Assembly among themselves. Schedule 8 and Schedule 9 of the constitution deals with powers that the local executive can execute either on its own or concurrently with the

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

and the provincial governments. Some authorities the rural municipalities have include collecting various taxes like entertainment tax, business tax and residential tax at the local level. The rural municipalities will have an annual budget of at least Rs 10 million. The rural municipalities are also a members of the National Association of Rural Municipalities (NARMIN), an

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

of the 460 rural municipalities in Nepal.

List of gaunpalikas

References

{{Nepal topics, state=collapsed 01 Local government in Nepal Subdivisions of Nepal 2017 establishments in Nepal Village development committees (Nepal)

History

Structure and responsibilities

List of gaunpalikas

See also

References