Nepal 2015 Constitution (reviewed 2016) - Page 5 of 42

Table of Contents

PART 4. Directive Principles, Policies and Responsibilities of the State

49. To be the Guiding Principles

The Directive Principles, Policies and Responsibilities of the State mentioned in this Part shall remain as guidelines for the governance of the State.
The State shall mobilize or have it mobilized, the required resources and means for the implementation of the principles, policies and responsibilities mentioned in this Part.

50. Directive Principles

It shall be the political objective of the State to strengthen a federal democratic republican system to ensure an atmosphere where democratic rights are exercised by acknowledging sovereignty, independence and integrity of the country to be of utmost importance; by protecting freedom, equality, property and all citizens through rule of law; by embracing the norms and values of fundamental rights and human rights, gender equality, proportional inclusion, participation and social justice; and by maintaining a just system in all spheres of national life in order to establish a government system aimed at public welfare, while maintaining relations between federal units on the basis of cooperation between them, and internalizing the principle of inclusion in the governance system on the basis of local autonomy and decentralization,
It shall be the socio-cultural objective of the State to build a civilized and egalitarian society by ending all forms of discrimination, oppression and injustice based on religion, culture, cultural practices, customs, traditional practices, or on any other grounds; develop socio-cultural values based on national pride, democracy, people orientation, dignity of labor, entrepreneurship, discipline, dignity and tolerance, by respecting cultural diversity and maintaining communal harmony, solidarity and amity.
It shall be the economic objective of the State to make the national economy self-reliant, independent, and developing it towards socialism oriented economy with equitable distribution of resources and means, by ending all forms of economic exploitation and inequality, with maximum utilization of available resources and means through the participation of cooperatives, and public and private sector for sustainable development, and to build an exploitation-free society by fair distribution of the achievements made so far.
The international relations of the State shall be directed towards maintaining international relations based on sovereign equality, protecting sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national interest of the country, and promoting national prestige in the international community.

51. State policies

The State shall pursue the following policies:

Policies regarding national unity and national security:
1. Maintaining national unity intact by protecting independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and autonomy of the country;
2. Promoting national unity by developing relations of mutual cooperation between federal units by maintaining mutual understanding, tolerance, and solidarity among various caste, ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural groups and communities.
3. Management of law and order situation by developing a national security system.
4. Guaranteeing an all-round human security system.
5. Making the army, police, armed police and other security organs strong, capable, professional, inclusive and accountable to people on the basis of national security system.
6. Making citizens capable and ready for national service according to the need of the nation.
7. Utilizing the knowledge, skills and experience of the ex-bureaucrats, army men and policemen in an appropriate way.
Policies regarding political and governance system:
1. Guaranteeing people’s welfare and all-round-progress through economic, social and cultural transformation, while defending and strengthening political achievements and their development.
2. Maintaining rule of law by protecting and practicing human rights.
3. Implementing international treaties and agreements to which Nepal is a State party.
4. Guaranteeing good governance by ensuring equal and easy access of people to services provided by the State and making public administration clean, competent, impartial, transparent, accountable and participatory.
5. Making necessary provisions to make the mass media clean, healthy, impartial, dignified, responsible and professional.
6. Expanding and developing a harmonious and cooperative relations between federal units through partnerships in the management of resources and means, administration and responsibilities.
Policies regarding social and cultural transformation:
1. Building a society based on harmonious social relations by developing a healthy and civilized culture.
2. Conducting studies, research and archaeological excavations and dissemination of Information about them for the protection, maintenance and development of historical, archaeological and cultural heritage.
3. Community development by promoting local participation through the promotion and mobilization of creativity of local communities in social, cultural and charitable works.
4. Stressing on the development of art, literature and music that are in the form of national heritage
5. Put an end to all forms of discrimination, and injustice in the name of religion, culture, tradition, practices and rites.
6. To preserve and develop the language, texts, culture, literature, arts motion pictures and property of different castes and communities, on the basis of equity, while also maintaining the country’s cultural diversity.
7. To pursue the multi-language policy.
Policies regarding finance, industry and commerce:
1. Strengthening national economy through the participation and free development of public sector, cooperative sector and private sector.
2. Achieving economic prosperity with the maximum utilization of available resources and means by stressing on the roles of private sector in the economy;
3. Promoting cooperatives with its maximum utilization for national development.
4. Providing for regulation to maintain fairness, accountability and competitive atmosphere in all activities of economic sector to promote and mobilize them for the overall national development;
5. Fair distribution of the fruits of development and available means and resources.
6. Diversifying and expanding markets for productions and services through the development and expansion of industries and promotion of exports by identifying the areas of comparative advantages.
7. Protecting consumer rights by maintaining discipline and business fairness by controlling anomalies and malpractices such as black-marketing, monopoly, artificial scarcity and unhealthy competition and making national economy competitive.
8. Prioritizing domestic investment based on Nepali labor, skill and raw material for the development of the economy of the country through the protection and promotion of national industries and resources and means.
9. According priority to domestic investment in service sector to promote it a competitive industry for development of national economy;
10. Encouraging and mobilizing foreign capital and technology investment for infrastructure development in the areas of export promotion, and import to suit national interest.
11. Foreign aid shall be based on national needs and priority, and it shall be made transparent. The amount received as foreign aid shall be included in the national budget.
12. Utilizing the knowledge, skill, technology and capital of the non-resident Nepalese for national development.
13. Providing mobility to economic development by establishing coordination among provinces and between province and federation regarding industrial corridors, special economic zones, national projects and foreign investment projects.
Policies regarding agriculture and land reform:
1. Introducing scientific land reform by ending dual ownership of land for the benefit of farmers.
2. Increasing produce and productivity through land plotting and by discouraging absentee land ownership.
3. Protecting and promoting rights and interests of peasants and utilizing the land use policy for increasing production and productivity of agriculture and for commercialization, industrialization, diversification and modernization of agriculture;
4. Making proper utilization of land through proper regulation and management on the basis of productivity of land, its nature, and also by maintaining environmental balance.
5. Making arrangements for agricultural tools and an access to market with appropriate price for the produce.
Development policy:
1. Formulating strategies and programs for sustainable socio-economic development under regional development plans for balanced and inclusive regional development and to implement them in a coordinated manner.
2. Prioritizing under-developed regions while going for balanced, environment-friendly, qualitative and sustainable physical infrastructure development.
3. Increasing the participation of local people in development process.
4. Promoting investment in scientific studies and research, and inventions in science and technology, and for their progress and development, while protecting scientific, technological and intellectual minds and special talents.
5. Developing and expanding information technology as required by the nation, and making its access easy and simple for the general public, while also making its maximum use for national development.
6. Prioritizing poor citizens in the distribution of the fruits of development, and making necessary arrangements for the general public to have a fair share of it.
7. Developing an integrated national identity management information system, and manage it in an integrated way for all kinds of information and statistics relating to citizens, and integrate it to the services and facilities provided by the State and the national development planning.
8. Updating of population statistics and affiliating it with the national development planning.
Policy regarding the conservation, management and use of natural resources:
1. The State shall pursue a policy of conserving the natural resources available in the country by imbibing the norms of inter-generation judicious use of it and for the national interest. It shall also be about its sustainable use in an environmental friendly way. The policy shall ensure the fair distribution of the benefits generated by it by giving local people the priority and preferential rights.
2. The State shall pursue a policy of prioritizing national investment in water resources based on people’s participation and making a multi-utility development of water resources.
3. The State shall pursue a policy of developing and producing renewable energy, ensuring cheap, easily available and dependable supply of energy, and making an appropriate use of it to meet the basic needs of the citizens.
4. Developing a sustainable and dependable irrigation system by controlling water-related natural disasters with the management of the river systems.
5. The State shall pursue a policy of making a sustainable use of biodiversity through the conservation and management o forests, fauna and flora, and by minimizing the negative impacts of industrialization and physical development by promoting public awareness on environmental cleanliness and protection.
6. The State shall pursue a policy of keeping necessary landmass as forest area in order to strike an environmental balance.
7. The State shall pursue a policy of adopting appropriate ways of minimizing or stopping negative effects on environment if it is there, or if there is a possibility of such an impact on nature, environment, or biodiversity.
8. The State shall formulate policies and enact laws on the basis of the principle of sustainable environment development based on pre-warning and pre-informed agreements regarding environmental protection.
9. The State shall formulate and pursue a policy of designing a pre-warning system, disaster preparedness, rescue, relief works and rehabilitation in order to minimize the risks of natural disasters.
Policies regarding the basic needs of citizens:
1. Making education scientific, technical, professional, skill-oriented, and employment and people oriented in order to prepare the human resources to be competent, competitive, moral, and committed to national interest.
2. Increasing the investment of the State in the educational sector, and regulating and managing the investment of the private sector in it to make education service oriented.
3. Making higher education easily available, of high quality and accessible, and gradually making it free.
4. Establishing and promoting information centers and libraries for the personality development of citizens.
5. The State shall gradually increase necessary investment in the public health sector in order to make citizens healthy.
6. Ensuring easily available and equal access to high quality health care for all.
7. Protecting and promoting Nepal’s traditional medicinal system such as the Ayurveda, natural medicines and homeopathy;
8. The State shall gradually increase investment in the health sector and make it service oriented by regulating and managing the investment of the private sector in it.
9. Gradually increase the number of health institutions and health workers, while emphasizing research on health in order to make qualitative health service available to all.
10. It shall be the policy of the State to increase general life expectancy by decreasing maternity-infant mortality rate by encouraging family planning population management based on the need and capacity of the country.
11. Developing well-planned and organized settlement areas by managing the unplanned settlements.
12. Increasing investment in the agricultural sector by making necessary provisions for sustainable productivity, supply, storage and security, while making it easily available with effective distribution of food grains by encouraging food productivity that suits the soil and climate conditions of the country in accordance with the norms of food sovereignty.
13. Making a well-planned supply system by ensuring equal access of citizens to the basic needs and services, and prioritizing the remote areas and regions that were made to lag behind.
14. Increasing investment in the transportation sector by ensuring simple, easy and equal access of all citizens to transportation facilities, and prioritizing environment friendly technology, encouraging public transportation and quality private transportation, while also making the transportation sector safe, well managed and disabled friendly.
15. Ensuring insurance policy for citizens and making arrangements for their access to health care.
Policies regarding labor and employment:
1. Creating a condition to ensure employment for all and employment opportunities in the country itself by making the labor power, which is the main social and economic force, competent and professional.
2. Guaranteeing social security by ensuring the basic rights of all laborers in accordance with the concept of dignity of labor.
3. Ending child labor and all forms of labor exploitation.
4. Encouraging the participation of laborers in the management by creating good industrial relationship between employers and employees.
5. Regulating and managing foreign employment in order to make this sector exploitation free, safe and well-managed to guarantee laborers’ right and employment.
6. Encouraging the use of the capital, skill, technology and the experience gained in foreign employment in the productivity sector of the country.
Policies regarding social justice and inclusion:
1. Making appropriate arrangements of livelihoods by prioritizing employment for single women who are in helpless conditions on the basis of skill, capability and merit.
2. Making women self reliant who are vulnerable, victims of conflict, excluded by family and the society, by making necessary arrangements of rehabilitation, protection and empowerment for them.
3. Ensuring the use of necessary services and facilities during the reproductive stage
4. Economically evaluating the works and contribution in regard to child care and care for the family.
5. Paying primary attention to the utmost interest of children.
6. Rehabilitation of kamaiya (bonded laborers), kamlari, haruwa, charuwa, haliya, the landless and the squatters by identifying them, and making arrangements of housing, or providing small plot of land or house, employment, or arable land for their livelihoods.
7. Providing appropriate opportunities to youths for their contribution to the all-round-development of the State by increasing their participation in it, through the creation of an atmosphere for them to use their political, economic, social and cultural rights, and also by providing special opportunities in educational, health and employment sector through their personality development for their empowerment and all-round-development.
8. Making special arrangements to ensure the rights of Adivasi Janajatis (indigenous ethnic groups) to lead a dignified life with their respective identities, and making them participate In decision making processes that concern them, and preserving and maintaining the traditional knowledge, skill, experience, culture and social practices of Adivasi Janajatis and local communities.
9. Making special arrangements for minority communities to exercise their social and cultural rights by maintaining their identity.
10. Making special arrangements for the Madhesi community to have equal distribution of benefits of economic, social and cultural opportunities, and also for the protection, progress, empowerment and development of the very poor and backward classes within the Madhesi community.
11. Making special provisions of protection, progress, empowerment and development, and the fulfillment of basic needs of the citizens of oppressed and backward regions.
12. Giving priority to the very poor within all communities, regions, and gender, while providing social security and social justice.
13. Making a well planned investment in sports and sports men and women in order to produce healthy, able and disciplined citizens and developing sports as a medium of consolidating national unity and promoting national prestige in the international arena.
14. Involving NGOs and INGOs only in the areas of national needs and priority, by adopting a one-door policy for the establishment, endorsement, engagement, regulation and management of such organizations, and by making the investment and role of such organizations accountable and transparent.
Policies regarding justice and punishment:
1. Making judicial administration swift, competent, easily available, economical, impartial, effective and accountable to people.
2. Adopting alternative methods such as reconciliation and mediation for the settlement of disputes of ordinary nature.
3. Adopting effective methods in controlling corruption and irregularities in all sectors, including politics, judicial sector, administration and the social sector.
Policies regarding tourism: Developing environment friendly tourism industry as an important basis of national economy by identifying, protecting, promoting and publicizing the historical, cultural, religious, archaeological and natural heritage sites of the country, and prioritizing local people in the distribution of benefits of the tourism industry.
Policy regarding international relations:
1. Pursuing an independent foreign policy considering national interest to be of utmost importance, on the basis of the UN Charter, non-alignment, principle of Panchasheel, international law and universal norms, and by remaining active to defend the sovereignty, indivisibility, national independence and national interest.
2. Entering into treaties and agreements on the basis of equality and mutual interest, by reviewing past treaties.

52. Obligation of the Sate

It shall be the obligation of the State to maintain Nepal’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, autonomy of Nepal, protecting and promoting fundamental rights and human rights, and to observe the directive principles of the State and gradually implementing the policies.

53. Submitting report

An annual report regarding the works of the government including the achievements made in the implementation of the directive principles, policies and responsibilities mentioned in this Part, shall be presented to the President. The President shall make arrangements to send such reports to the Federal Legislature through the Prime Minister.

54. Provision regarding monitoring

There shall be a committee in the Parliament as provided for in law to monitor the progressive implementation of the directive principles, policies and responsibilities of the state as mentioned in this Part.