23 April 2025, Lalitpur.

On April 22, 2025, Chandragiri Municipality launched its Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Report (Nepali Edition) and the National VLR Template, a major step towards localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nepal. The event was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and with technical support from UN-Habitat, under the project supported by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

Addressing the event, the Mayor of Chandragiri Municipality, Mr. Ghanashyam Giri, highlighted the municipality’s journey over the past decade and transformation of the development efforts that initially focused on physical infrastructure to a holistic approach encompassing economic, social, cultural, and technological priorities.  He emphasized the efforts of VLR that has provided a strong foundation for future development and offers a good example for other municipalities across Nepal. The mayor further elaborated how the municipality has started integrating VLR findings into the municipal planning process. This includes initiatives like the TB prevention campaign, initiation of psycho-social counseling at ward level to minimize mental health issues, and establishment of a municipal data and communication section to foster data and evidence-based planning. The mayor also stressed that to achieve the SDGs, alongside the municipal efforts, support from federal and provincial governments, as well as development partners will be crucial.

The Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. Surendra Thapa Magar, underscored the importance of linking municipal development with the principles of "leaving no one behind" and the broader goals encompassing People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships. He emphasized on documenting progress, identifying gaps, and connecting local action with national and global efforts as a way forward. He called for better coordination between government agencies, non-government actors, and communities to strengthen local SDG actions.

Ms. Pragya Pradhan, Habitat Programme Manager at UN-Habitat Nepal, thanked Chandragiri Municipality, MoUD, and Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) for their strong collaboration. She noted that as Nepal has recently submitted the Voluntary National Review report, real progress depends on action and impacts at the local level. She acknowledged Chandragiri’s VLR as a robust document and briefly highlighted the framework of the prepared VLR Template that provides a simple, step-by-step guide that any municipality can use. She expressed hope that more municipalities will use their own resources to prepare VLRs and align their local plans with the SDGs.

Following the official launching of the documents, a technical session on disseminating the VLR template was led by Mr. Santosh Kumar Khatri, section officer from MoFAGA. Mr. Khatri highlighted a good base provided by Chandragiri’s VLR for future actions and focused on how municipalities can link the VLR findings directly into their annual and mid-term planning. He also emphasized that these documents can only be impactful when the municipal team takes them seriously and commits to put active efforts towards implementation of proposed action plans. Mr. Khatri encouraged other municipalities to take up the challenge, as it is critical for all 753 local governments to undertake VLR to take local actions, it would strengthen Nepal’s national progress toward the 2030 goals and confirmed MoFAGA’s committed to assist in this process.

During the technical session, Mr. Milan Bagale from UN-Habitat explained the process captured in the VLR Template, based on the experience from Chandragiri Municipality.  Similarly, Mr. Atul Man Joshi, a Data and GIS expert, presented on the importance of good data for planning and action. He shared how data was collected and analyzed in VLR of Chandragiri and how data can be localized and validated for effective problem identification and action planning.

Positive response was received from the participants of other municipalities. Dhankuta Municipality shared that they have already selected four goals to start their VLR process. Budhanilkantha Municipality and Madhyapur Thimi Municipality also expressed their excitement to begin VLR process, hoping for support and collaboration from partners like UN-Habitat.

With participation from over 70 representatives, the VLR (Nepali edition) and VLR template launch marked an important moment for Nepal’s SDG journey. By learning from Chandragiri’s experience and using the new VLR template, more municipalities are now ready to take action and make sustainable, inclusive development a reality across Nepal.

The Voluntary Local Review report of Chandragiri municipality is prepared through support from the project “Fostering COVID-19 recovery and SDG implementation through local action in Asia-Pacific, Arab and African countries” funded by the 2030 Agenda Sub-fund to support 9 municipalities across 3 regions and implemented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and United Cities and Local Governments.