Leading Change from the Frontline: How Deputy Mayor Geeta Banjara is Advancing Inclusive Governance and Local Development in Panauti Municipality

Context and Challenge

For women in Nepalese politics, sustaining leadership and securing public trust over multiple electoral cycles remains a significant challenge. Geeta Banjara, Deputy Mayor of Panauti Municipality in Kavrepalanchok District, has overcome these barriers through more than 14 years of political engagement and public service. Coming from a family with a political background, she first entered local governance as a Ward Member in 1997/98 and was subsequently elected Deputy Mayor in 2017/18 before being re-elected in 2022/23—an achievement that remains uncommon for women leaders in Nepal.

Throughout her public service career, she has balanced demanding leadership responsibilities with household obligations while continuously engaging with citizens and addressing local development challenges. She has also benefited from the support of fellow elected representatives and various exposure and learning opportunities that strengthened her ability to lead effectively.

Panauti Municipality faced several governance and development challenges, including limited infrastructure development in remote settlements, inadequate support systems for vulnerable groups, the need for stronger local revenue generation, limited monitoring of development projects implemented by other tiers of government, and the need for improved delivery of social and mental health services.

What Was Done?

As Deputy Mayor and a key local government leader, Geeta Banjara championed a range of innovative and citizen-focused initiatives that contributed to inclusive governance, social protection, local economic development, and accountable public administration.

One of her most memorable achievements during her first term was leading the management of a natural drinking water system in a remote village and advocating for road construction in areas where longstanding traditional beliefs discouraged infrastructure development. By publicly demonstrating the benefits of road connectivity and even facilitating live television coverage of the construction process, she helped change entrenched perceptions that had slowed local development.

Her commitment to inclusion extended beyond infrastructure. As a member of the Inter-Party Women Alliance district chapter, she supported women, persons with disabilities, and marginalized communities in accessing essential government services and legal documentation. She recalls facilitating the citizenship registration process for a woman who faced family-related barriers in obtaining the necessary documentation, ultimately helping her secure citizenship through appropriate legal channels.

Recognizing the vulnerability of single women, her leadership contributed to the establishment of a municipal social protection scheme that provides financial assistance of NPR 2,000 per month to single women aged 35–60 years. To institutionalize this support, the municipality allocated NPR 2 million and ensured a transition to the federal social security scheme after beneficiaries reach the eligible age.

Following the devastating 2015 earthquake, she also supported efforts to address an often-overlooked issue—mental health. Under municipal leadership, mental health experts from the Patan Academy of Health Sciences were mobilized to provide services to affected residents. To strengthen continuity of care, the municipality appointed a psychosocial counsellor to bridge community-level needs and specialized mental health services.

Her leadership further promoted local economic development by supporting income-generating activities for poor, marginalized, and single women through agriculture, livestock production, goat raising, and dairy farming initiatives.

As the ex-officio Coordinator of the Local Judicial Committee, she has played a central role in resolving approximately 50 disputes annually, primarily related to land boundaries, family conflicts, and responsibilities toward elderly parents. Through local mediation and dispute resolution mechanisms, the Judicial Committee has helped citizens access justice closer to home.

She has also demonstrated strong leadership in strengthening municipal finances. As a champion of Own Source Revenue (OSR) mobilization, she helped guide revenue planning and management efforts that significantly increased municipal revenues over time.

In addition, as Coordinator of the Municipal Monitoring Committee, she regularly conducts field monitoring visits to oversee development projects and ensure accountability. Her active oversight contributed to the recovery of approximately NPR 4 million from contractors due to poor-quality work and technical non-compliance.

A key contributing factor to her effectiveness has been her continuous learning and capacity development. Through the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP), she participated in training and capacity-building programmes on budget preparation, judicial committee functions, own source revenue mobilization, and local-level monitoring. These learning opportunities strengthened her knowledge of local governance systems and enhanced her ability to exercise informed leadership across multiple municipal functions.

Results and Impact

The leadership of Geeta Banjara has generated tangible results for citizens and strengthened the governance performance of Panauti Municipality.

Her efforts helped expand essential infrastructure and challenge development-resistant social norms, enabling greater access to services in previously underserved communities.

The municipality's social protection programme for single women has provided direct financial support to vulnerable citizens while ensuring long-term linkage with federal social security mechanisms.

The municipality's mental health initiative has become a notable local innovation. More than 18,000 residents experiencing emotional and psychosocial difficulties have received direct support through the programme, significantly expanding access to mental health services at the local level.

Through local economic development initiatives, poor and marginalized households, particularly women, have been supported to engage in productive livelihood activities, contributing to greater economic resilience and inclusion.

The Local Judicial Committee has enhanced citizens' access to justice by addressing approximately 50 disputes each year through local mechanisms, reducing the burden on formal judicial systems and promoting social harmony.

Perhaps most remarkably, municipal own-source revenue increased from approximately NPR 0.8–0.9 million in 2017 to NPR 250 million within two years and has now reached around NPR 410.7 million. This significant growth reflects stronger local revenue management and improved fiscal capacity to finance public services and development priorities.

Through rigorous monitoring and accountability measures, the municipality also recovered approximately NPR 4 million from contractors due to poor-quality work and technical deficiencies, demonstrating a strong commitment to transparency, value for money, and responsible use of public resources.

Contribution to PLGSP Goals

The experience of Geeta Banjara demonstrates how investing in the capacity of elected representatives can translate into stronger local governance outcomes. The training and capacity-building support provided through PLGSP in areas such as budgeting, judicial functions, revenue mobilization, and monitoring contributed to enhancing her leadership capabilities and effectiveness in municipal governance.

Her work embodies the core objectives of PLGSP by strengthening local governance systems, improving municipal accountability, expanding access to justice and social protection, promoting inclusion of women and marginalized groups, enhancing local revenue generation, and improving the delivery of citizen-centered services. Together, these achievements contribute to the broader PLGSP vision of functional, sustainable, inclusive, and accountable local governance that delivers meaningful results for citizens.