Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Koshi Province Planning Commission has set a budget ceiling of Rs 35.17 billion for the province for fiscal year 2024/25.
Dr Rajendra Adhikari, the vice chairperson of the commission, said a ceiling of Rs 35.17 billion has been proposed for the first year of the Second Periodic Plan.
According to Adhikari, increasing agricultural production, promoting tourism, discouraging foreign employment, making provisions for investment to boost industrial production, technical education and health care services, will be the priorities of the new budget.
The province government is bringing the budget for the fiscal year 2024/25 on Saturday.
Adhikari said the province government is announcing plans to provide interest subsidies to promote agricultural production and entrepreneurship, as well as a 50% subsidy on the purchase of modern farm equipment through the budget for 2024/25.
He said necessary arrangements have been made to provide interest subsidies for the establishment of agriculture and service industries for the youth returning from foreign employment. “Special grants will be provided to community schools for technical education in hilly and mountainous regions. Necessary arrangements for doctors, health workers and equipment will be made to make hospitals in mountainous and hilly districts well-equipped, thereby ending the compulsion of having to go elsewhere for treatment,” he added.
The new budget will prioritize increasing investment in physical infrastructure such as roads, buildings, communication, electricity, water, and sanitation in the province.
The province government also has plans to remove legal obstacles and provide legitimacy to marijuana cultivation, branding it as a high-value crop. Likewise, it has proposed to provide housing grants to prevent migration from hills to the Terai region and attract people of the lowlands towards the hills.
The Koshi Province Assembly has already endorsed the policies and programs for the fiscal year 2024/25 presented by the province government.
