Administrative and financial operations in Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality have been at a standstill since mid-July after the position of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) remained vacant. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration had transferred two officials—Dan Bahadur Shahi and Nain Singh Budha—to the municipality, but neither reported for duty, leaving daily operations blocked.

Complicating matters further, the ministry removed Subas Rawal, an eighth-level education officer who had been handling financial responsibilities until the end of June. Although two administrative officers were assigned in succession, the municipality has effectively been without a CAO since July.

Rural Municipality Chair Chhirang Kyapne Lama said he and his team visited the ministry several times requesting the appointment of a CAO, but the matter remains unresolved. “We formally asked the ministry to allow education officer Rawal to serve as acting CAO with financial authority, but they declined. The officials posted to our municipality are not willing to come,” Lama said.

Rawal is currently in Kathmandu for in-service training, further weakening the municipality’s leadership. The local government has again requested the ministry to temporarily appoint seventh-level engineer Hemanta Neupane as acting CAO with financial authority. “The ministry must either assign Engineer Hemanta as recommended or send a new CAO immediately,” Lama added.

The absence of a CAO has stalled project agreements, budget implementation, procurement processes, and all financial transactions. Employees have not received salaries and allowances since Dashain, and the distribution of social security allowances has also stopped, according to the municipality.

Lama said development projects, service delivery, and financial operations have been disrupted for three months. Without an urgent alternative arrangement from the ministry, he warned, all municipal functions could come to a complete halt.