The ‘Tilottama Model’ of local development

Local governments are struggling to implement sustainable development projects, often due to financial constraints or inconsistent budget allocations. These governments at people’s doorsteps are failing to deal with development challenges, raising public concerns about the future of Nepal's fledgling federal system.

While many local governments have opted for short-term, cosmetic projects to appease constituents, Tilottama Municipality in Rupandehi district has taken a different approach. Known for its innovative practices, Tilottama has initiated a strategic long-term planning process for the fiscal year 2023/2024. Breaking from the conventional notion of allocating the available resources in petty projects, the municipal government has categorized its development works into three themes: municipal prioritized projects, municipal pride projects and municipal golden projects. After assessing projects proposed by ward offices, the municipal government included them in the project bank. Projects costing under Rs 10 million were categorized as prioritized projects, between Rs 10 and Rs 50 million as pride projects and those costing above Rs 50 million as golden projects. This aimed at ensuring effective resource allocation while addressing cross-cutting issues such as balanced, sustainable, green, resilient and inclusive development.

The municipality constructed 17 kilometers of internal roads in its 17 wards using modern asphalt concrete technology, naming this project the "One Ward, One Kilometer Road Construction Project". This falls under the theme of municipal prioritized projects. The municipality had often been criticized for focusing its budget on the vicinity of the six-lane Siddhartha Highway. To address this public concern, it decided to develop inner strategic roads in each ward, bridging the rural and urban sectors to boost the local economy.

Additionally, to address the long-standing issues related to maternity and infant health, the municipality came up with the plan to build "Tilottama Maternity and Infant Hospital" as a municipal pride project. Moreover, to tackle the widening gap between private and public education, Tilottama has proposed constructing a minimum of four government school buildings each year. The plan has been categorized under municipal golden projects. This novel initiative has generated widespread public curiosity and support from various sectors of local life.

In a similar vein, the municipality constructed Tilottama National Flag Park to celebrate the national cricket team's achievement of participating in the 2024 Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. A towering national flag was installed in the park to commemorate this national achievement with the hope of fostering national solidarity. The park also boasts a digital screen where all the matches of the Nepali cricket team were broadcast live. The primary objectives of this project were to instill a sense of nationhood in young people seeking their future within the country and to honor the national players, their parents, friends and neighbors who witnessed the performance of the national cricket team alongside their municipal leaders.

Tilottama acknowledges its plans and policies for the current fiscal year as a significant policy departure in various avenues. The municipality developed a new vision for each letter of its name: T for technological advancement, I for innovative ways of doing, L for local leadership development, O for operational simplicity, T for technical expertise, T for typical product enhancement, A for artificial intelligence, M for mobilization of resources, and A for autonomy of works. These themes represent five sectors of local level development: economic, social, infrastructure, forest, environment and disaster management, and good governance and service delivery. In terms of good governance, Tilottama emphasizes transparency, responsiveness, responsibility, accountability, controllability and simplicity of administration. To register public complaints and address them accordingly, the municipality introduced the "Hello Tilottama" hotline last year, focusing on municipal responsiveness to public needs. Additionally, the "Innovative Tilottama" framework has been designed with a special focus on administrative simplicity. Most ward offices and municipal sections run software-based systems to provide timely services to residents effectively and efficiently. The sub-national government is also introducing "Time Card" services for its citizens.

The municipality has beautified Siddhartha Highway, which bisects its land, in an exceptionally decorative manner. The greenery on both sides of the road and the picturesque bougainvillea flowers in the divider entice any traveler passing through the Butwal–Bhairahawa road. During May and June, the area sees an influx of photo-motivated tourists from both Nepal and neighboring states of India. The municipality has added value to this scenic road by constructing a roof truss on the pedestrian crossing bridge, an initiative introduced for the first time in Nepal, and has installed several traffic and high-mast lights across the road. Moreover, a decorative pedestrian bridge made of glass and aluminum is under construction in Manigram - a major economic hub of the municipality.

The sub-national government is also well-known for its community-based practices such as community sanitation and greenery promotion, community health, community education, community forestry and community irrigation. It organizes community sanitation and greenery promotion programs twice a month to sensitize the local community about garbage management and environmental protection. Last year, a mega program was held on the municipality premises to mark the 100th event of a nationally hailed community sanitation and greenery promotion program, with a dream to establish it as a Tilottama civilization.

Local governments across the country have drafted their plans, policies, and programs for the new fiscal year. The Tilottama style of planned development could be insightful to them if they want to establish themselves as learning organizations. Since creativity and learning are the underlying features of transformational leadership, local leaders who demonstrate these values can benefit from Tilottama’s politically and economically grounded local development model.