The Mangalgadhi-Kakrebihar Road started in 2018/19 still remains incomplete. Photo: Rama KC
SURKHET: Karnali Province is yearning for development. Among the 10 districts of the province, Humla is yet to be connected to the national road network. Dolpa and Mugu also lack adequate connectivity to the provincial headquarters in Surkhet. In other districts, besides the district headquarters, rural settlements lack even basic infrastructure for development, such as education, health, drinking water, and electricity.
In terms of development, Karnali Province is in need of significant investment and a long-term strategy to match the progress of other provinces. However, the Karnali Province Government, responsible for steering development, has struggled to allocate and spend its budget which has impeded the province’s progress.
The Mangalgadhi-Kankrebihar Road is a mere half-kilometer away from the Office of the Chief Minister. It serves as the main route to Kankrevihar, an important archaeological and historical site and the most popular tourist destination in Surkhet. Since 2018/19, the provincial government and Birendranagar Municipality have been collaborating to upgrade this 2,300-meter road. Despite However, the work on this road still remains incomplete.
The delay in road upgrading has not only hampered development in the Latikoili region but is also causing inconvenience for tourists. Amar Sisne Nepal Megha JV, which bagged the contract at Rs 127.61 million, was supposed to complete the work within 18 months. However, even after five years, the company has not finished the project.
This road project is not an isolated case. Over a dozen road projects initiated by the provincial government are seeing a similar fate. Since a majority of the fiscal budget is spent in the final quarter, the quality of development work often suffers. Given the spending pattern in the first four months of the current fiscal year, there is little hope for a change in the situation this year as well.
In the first four months of 2023/24, the provincial government has only spent four percent of its capital budget and 11 percent of its recurrent budget.
Binod Shah, a member of the Karnali Province Assembly, said that budget spending could be expedited if the provincial government and subordinate offices work in tandem. “It is the duty of the government to expedite spending by removing obstacles in development works,” Shah said. “As a responsible opposition, we are continuously drawing the attention of the government to this issue.”
Even the projects prioritized by the provincial government have struggled to spend. Over the past five years, the provincial government allocated a budget of over Rs 133.94 billion but managed to spend only 53.59% of the allocated amount. The lack of strategic planning in budget allocations leads to budget freeze every year.
Development analyst Dr. Ajun Bahadur Aidi attributes the low spending in the province to a lack of willpower among government officials. “The government leadership lacks the capacity to spend. It has failed to identify agencies that can spend,” he added.
The provincial government, however, claims that although the pace of spending is slow in the first quarter, it is committed to achieving 100% progress in spending. “We are working on resolving problems seen in the implementation of budgetary programs. Weaknesses in the tendering process are gradually being rectified,” said Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Bed Raj Singh. “We are working to discourage spending in the 11th or 12th month of the fiscal year like in the past.”
