Home Minister Dawa Gyaltshen in the National Assembly last Friday said the Local Government Members’ Entitlement Rules and Regulations are ready for implementation.

The rules and regulations, which is the by-law of the Local Government Members’ Entitlement Act, will make the implementation of the Act easier.

“We will soon implement the rules and regulations,” the home minister said, in response to a question from Nanong-Shumar MP Dechen Zangmo. She asked the minister whether the government was willing to implement the rules and regulations that the government had already drafted.

Following the enactment of the LG entitlement Act in 2015, the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs had drafted the by-law.

“Even two years after the enactment of the entitlement Act, the government has failed to implement the rules and regulations,” she said.

The home minister said: “As the implementation of the rules and regulations involved financial matters, we had to seek the endorsement of the Pay Commission. Now that we have received the endorsement of the pay Commission, it will be implemented soon.”

The home minister said that any rules and regulations that involve monetary matters couldn’t be implemented immediately like other rules. He acknowledged that the implementation of the entitlement encountered some problems due to lack of the rules and regulations.

Panbang MP Dorji Wangdi said that if the rules and regulations were implemented as soon as the entitlement Act was enacted, the local government members who completed their terms last year would have received the benefits that the present local leaders are entitled to.

“Only after repeated reminders, the government is willing to implement the rules and regulations,” he said.

Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji said that it was not necessary to implement any Act or regulations as soon as they are finalised and endorsed.

“The entitlement Act does not say that the rules and regulations should be implemented as soon as the entitlement Act is passed,” he said.

Lyonpo Damcho Dorji added that the government needs to consult the local government and other stakeholders before the rules and regulations are implemented. “It’s natural that implementations of the rules and regulations take time.”

MB Subba