Karnali Government's Policy and Program Faces Scrutiny for Repetitive Content

Surkhet. The discussion on the upcoming fiscal year (2083/84) policy and program brought by the Karnali government has concluded. Most members of the provincial assembly participated in the discussion that began on Thursday. The common conclusion from everyone was that the new policy and program contained mostly old matters. 

As the new policy and program lacked any novel elements, most members of the assembly, from the ruling party to the opposition, expressed the view that it needs further improvement and development towards prosperity. Members like Bindaman Bisht and Vedraj Singh, former finance ministers, stated that repetitive issues were present and popular past programs were missing. Bisht raised questions about the expansion of the Surkhet Airport, which has been a recurring topic in policy and programs.

Allegations of non-cooperation against the current Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel were made when the expansion work was about to begin in 2078 BS. However, since he became Chief Minister, the matter of expansion has gained priority. Despite this, the expansion work has not yet commenced.

'The provincial government's policy and program is to expand the airport, but the Chief Minister himself has gone to lay the foundation stone for the new building of the school in the area affected by the expansion,' he said. 'Where is the coordination here? The policy and program mentions expansion, but physical structures are being built in the expansion area with the Chief Minister's participation? Isn't this like saying one thing and doing another?' He accused the government of lacking consistency.

Another member, Singh, stated that the current airport expansion is indeed necessary. Furthermore, he mentioned that the expansion of the provincial airport, which is supposed to be built in Eastern Surkhet, was not included in the policy and program. He also pointed out that the government has said nothing about certain programs from 2075 BS that keep reappearing and increasing liabilities.

'Either such programs should have been brought with the intention of completing them this year by allocating budget, or it should have been stated that all contracts would be terminated,' he said. 'This situation, where new projects cannot be initiated and old ones cannot be completed, must end.'

Most members who spoke in the assembly raised questions about the popular program 'Bank account for daughters, security for life' that was introduced during the previous government's tenure.

During the time of former Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi, this program was discussed as popular. It was implemented for a few years. Millions of rupees were spent until last year. Recently, this program, which had become stalled, has now disappeared from the policy and program. Most members raised questions about this.

'Is this government trying to be unfavorable towards daughters?' most female members questioned.

The leader of the main opposition party, the CPN (Unified Socialist), Mangal Bahadur Shahi, concluded by saying, 'This policy and program is a complete 'copy-paste'. There is nothing else to hope for besides that.'

Former Chief Ministers Rajkumar Sharma, Hikmat Bisht, and some other members emphasized the issue of implementation. 'The situation where programs keep coming but are not implemented must end,' said member Janaki Singh.

Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel responded to the questions raised by the members on Friday. As most members called the policy and program 'copy-paste', he began by clarifying, 'When the same presenter or leadership is in charge, whether you call the policy and program they bring 'copy-paste' or something else, I have no comment.'

Kandel stated that when he was in power, bringing the same things was considered revolutionary, but when out of power, it was seen as a lingering issue. 'We have brought it with corrections from the past,' he added, 'but even so, looking at the current discussion, the lingering issue is visible here.'

He mentioned that the speeches of the members and leaders have not changed much. He emphasized that it has been brought with some corrections from the past and needs further improvement.

'Now, in this very place, whether by the same presenter or a different presenter, many things are found to be unchanged,' he said. 'Even among those, when the same presenter or leadership is in charge, whether you call the policy and program they bring 'copy-paste' or something else, I have no comment.' He stated that he understands this in a positive way.

Chief Minister Kandel claimed that most programs have received continuity. Regarding the disappearance of some popular old programs, Kandel stated that there are complexities within the programs. 'If it could be done just by writing, it would have been implemented by now,' he said. 'Further discussion is needed on this matter. The reasons why it has been stopped until today will be resolved.'

After the Chief Minister's response, the policy and program have been passed by the assembly.