Province 1 leads the way in infrastructure works

ITAHARI: Even though the easternmost province failed to get a name in its first five-year term, it was able to implement numerous infrastructure projects during that time period.

The Province 1 Government presented combined fiscal budgets totaling Rs 161.39 billion over a five-year period and was able to invest Rs 109.56 billion, with a significant portion of the spending going towards infrastructure projects.

The province government’s main focus was on constructing roads, and it implemented several road projects including multi-year roads, Chief Minister Rural Roads, and other strategic roads.

Over the past five years, the province has implemented more than 200 small and large road projects. Some of these projects have been completed and are now operational. The province government implemented 66 multi-year road projects in 14 districts with an estimated cost of Rs 30.5 billion. These roads have greatly facilitated the development of rural areas in the province.

As of mid-October, approximately 50 km of the total 882 km of planned roads have been paved. Many of the roads are in the final stage of construction, including the Ghinaghat-Biratchowk four-lane road of 22.5 km, which is being implemented as a province pride project.

The road, which is expected to cost Rs 1.3 billion, has not only shortened the distance between Biratnagar and the eastern region of the province, but has also promoted expansion of education and health services, and created employment in the region, according to outgoing member of the Province 1 Assembly Bijay Biswas.

The performance of infrastructure projects initiated by the province government has been satisfactory, but the same cannot be said for those started by the federal government. The Rani-Dharan six-lane road, which has been in the works for a decade, for example, is not expected to be completed anytime soon.

The blacktopping of the Durgapur-Sukhani road in Jhapa, the Tandi-Dhobini road in Morang, the Belbari-Letang road, and the Bhojpur Dandagaon-Airport road have already been completed. In addition, the construction of 70 out of 128 bridges and 50 out of 119 footbridges initiated by the province government have also been completed.

Most of the projects initiated by the province government are nearing completion, while some are still under construction. None of the projects have been left in limbo.

The province government is working to protect and distribute water resources through a planned program, using lifting and boring techniques to supply water to hills and settlements. Of the 1,232 water supply projects initiated by the government, 80 have already been completed. These efforts have contributed significantly to reducing migration from affected areas.

According to the province government, approximately 90% of the population in the province has access to basic water services as of mid-June. The province government has arranged for water supply through lifting systems in numerous locations, including Kummayak Rural Municipality in Panchthar, Arkhoule in Halesi, Khotang, and Manebhanjyang in Okhaldhunga.

The province government has implemented several small and medium-scale irrigation projects to increase farm productivity It extended irrigation service to an additional 50 hectares over the past five years. Surface irrigation serves 5,719 hectares, groundwater serves 1,337 hectares, and agricultural canals serve 42,736 hectares, according to the province government.

In addition, the government built 72 km of embankments to protect agricultural areas at risk of erosion by rivers during this period.