Bagmati Province Government Shifts Focus to Implementation in Policy and Programs

Makwanpur. The Bagmati Province Government has changed its priorities in its policy and programs. While the government announced new plans and work details in the policy and programs of previous fiscal years, this time it has prioritized the implementation aspect. In last year's policy and programs, the government had put forward new policies and programs for the development and good governance of the province, but in the policy and programs for the upcoming year, their implementation has been given importance. The government has set a goal of completing incomplete projects rather than new ones in the policy and programs for the upcoming fiscal year. In the policy and programs for the fiscal year 2083/084, presented by Province Chief Deepak Prasad Devkota in the Provincial Assembly meeting on Tuesday, compared to the policy and programs for the fiscal year 2082/083, the government appears to have moved from infrastructure construction and reconstruction to digital governance, administrative reform, and specialized production. In the fiscal year 2082/083, the government had mainly focused on establishing a 'Province Project Bank' and systematizing the project selection process, while the policy and programs for the fiscal year 2083/084 emphasize the implementation aspect. To reduce expenditure in the upcoming fiscal year, the government has moved forward with the goal of merging the currently existing ministries to reduce them to 8 and abolishing unnecessary structures. The government has emphasized the use of artificial intelligence in decision-making processes and digital transformation. The policy and programs for 2082/083 sought self-sufficiency in agriculture through programs like 'One Village One Agricultural Product' and 'Farmer's Hand, Government's Support'. The government does not seem to have achieved significant progress in this area. For 2083/084, the government has announced the 'Pride of the Province, Diligent Farmer Campaign'. The government has also announced that it will make legal arrangements to manage commercial cannabis cultivation. In the previous year (2082/083), the government was focused on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of structures damaged by floods and landslides, with an emphasis on the slogan 'Roads and Bridges: The Foundation of Development'. The policy and programs for 2083/084 adopt a policy of 'Repair First, Then Construct' and discourage the opening of new tracks. The government has set a goal of promoting electric vehicles and bringing the transportation service into a digital system with QR codes. In the health sector, the policy and programs for 2082/083 continued the 'Chief Minister People's Health Program' and concessions for cancer treatment. In the policy and programs for 2083/084, the province government has put forward the concept of establishing 'Health Centers' and health tourism. In the social sector, this time the government has put forward the concept of integrated housing for marginalized Chepang, Bote, Majhi, and Thami communities and 'A Province for the Poor to Live In'. In 2082/083, the government had set a goal of developing the 'Shiva Circuit' and the Sarlahi-Makwanpur-Chitwan region as an industrial corridor. Evaluating the implementation of this program as very weak, the government has adopted a policy of preparing programs to bring incomplete projects to completion. In 2083/084, the province government has announced the development of Dhangdunge Dada in Dolakha as a 'Film City' through the 'Let's Travel Bagmati, Let's Understand Culture' campaign and a digital campaign for tourism. What are the new programs of the government? The government plans to pave the legal way for cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes, and to reduce expenditure by reducing the number of ministries, offices, and administrative staff. The 'Hello CM Desk' will be effectively operated to listen to public grievances, and a startup ecosystem program will be operated to provide loans to youth against projects. The policy of using artificial intelligence in decision-making processes and monitoring systems has been included for the first time. Making the provincial capital Hetauda a 'Greater Hetauda' and building pedestrian-friendly roads with cycle lanes have been included in the government's policy and programs.

The 'A Province for the Poor to Live In' program targeting the poor for self-employment and production, the 'Pride of the Province, Diligent Farmer' program to provide interest subsidies and incentives for agricultural entrepreneurship, and the 'Let's Travel Bagmati, Let's Understand Culture' program to promote neglected tourist destinations in the province are among the government's plans. The government also plans to test food quality through mobile vans in major cities of the province. Programs to open and promote unfamiliar mountains below 7,000 meters for climbing, bring ride-sharing services (Pathao, Indriver, etc.) into the revenue net by enacting laws, and adopt a 'Green Finance' policy for environmental conservation have also been included. The government's policy and programs include forming and organizing the provincial civil service, using the province's revenue authority (uniformity in tax rates) as an exclusive right, quickly concluding the adjustment of the provincial police in coordination with the federal government, and effectively managing the province's peace and security as an exclusive right. The strategy is to coordinate and cooperate with the federal and local governments without conflicting with their shared rights when implementing exclusive rights. What has been left out? While the government's policy and programs for 2082/083 gave top priority to the reconstruction of physical structures damaged by floods and landslides last year, the policy for 2083/084 appears to be moving forward with 'regular maintenance' in road infrastructure and disaster management. The government has abandoned the program to pilot the establishment of 'Agricultural Produce Market Centers' in 16 local levels. The plan to conduct a detailed study and start construction of the 'Bagmati Province Shiva Circuit' is not included in the policy and programs for the upcoming year. The government has not moved forward with the plan to determine the criteria for multi-year projects included in the previous policy and programs and provide source assurance within the first quarter of the fiscal year. The policy does not include the use of 'Bio-engineering' technology for watershed conservation, the 'One District One Special Agricultural Produce Pocket Area Program', and expanding the market access for animal products internationally. The preparation of a detailed mapping of medicinal plant species based on their distribution and abundance, and 'Meet the People' programs for tourism promotion have not been included in the policy and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.