Decentralization is one of the key reform efforts practiced in developing
countries to strengthen good governance by enhancing, for instance, people’s
participation, transparency and accountability. Nepal has been suffering,
however, from a long political transition since the 1990s. Along with political and
government change in the country, Nepal has experimented with different forms
of decentralization ranging from deconcentration to delegation and devolution.
The Local Self Governance Act (LSGA) 1999 devolved special power, authority,
roles and responsibilities to the local bodies. From the perspective of
decentralization policy implementation, the periods before and after July 2002
present different contexts. Due to a prolonged political transition and changing
context, the decentralization and local self-governance system in Nepal
have faced several constraints and challenges in planning, implementing and
monitoring local level development activities. This article discusses some of
the key constraints and challenges of decentralization policy in the context of
political transition in Nepal.