Lumbini’s Home Ministry: No police force, no authority

KATHMANDU: On July 17, the Lumbini Province Government published a notice in the Province Gazette officially renaming the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Law, and Cooperatives to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The province’s Minister for Home Affairs Santosh Kumar Pandeya declared that this change marked the beginning of federalism. However, despite the declaration two months ago, Pandeya is still the economic affairs minister in terms of exercising rights. The security team assigned to him still operates under the federal government and the province government doesn’t have its own police force yet.

“It appears that the name change serves as mere self-satisfaction. You cannot gain rights by solely changing the name,” commented Tilak Ram Sharma, the former Minister for Internal Affairs of Lumbini Province.

During Sharma’s tenure last July, the province government enacted the Province Police Service Act – a crucial law intended to bring police administration under provincial control. The move was seen as a significant step towards implementing federalism. However, the Act cannot come into implementation until the federal government brings the Federal Police Act.

“We renamed the ministry as the Ministry of Home Affairs as part of our federalism implementation plan,” Minister Pandey said. “The police force will be adjusted by mid-October. The home ministry’s role will become apparent thereafter.”

Although the home ministry exists in Lumbini Province, the existing police structure does not acknowledge it. The Lumbini Province Police Office continues to function under the federal government. Police teams providing security for provincial ministers are also a part of the federal police unit. “We will continue to function under the federal government until the Federal Police Act is enacted and the police force is restructured,” SSP Krishna Bahadur Palli Magar, the spokesperson for the Lumbini Province Police Office, said.

According to the Act, the Lumbini Province Police Office will be headed by an Additional Inspector General (AIG) from Nepal Police. AIG deputed by the federal government will lead the provincial police force until an appointment is made to the post through promotion from the provincial police force.