Lumbini Province Lawmakers Lobby for Constituency Budget Allocations

Butwal. As the Lumbini Province government is in the final stages of preparing the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84, provincial assembly members have started lobbying ministries to include budget for their respective constituencies.

Following Chief Minister Chet Narayan Acharya's indication that directly elected MPs can recommend projects worth approximately 40 million rupees and proportional MPs at least 20 million rupees, MPs have become active in presenting development projects for their areas to the government.

In accordance with the provision that project proposals must come through the concerned ministries to be included in the budget, provincial assembly members have submitted proposals for projects related to roads, education, health, irrigation, drinking water, and infrastructure development to the government.

Former Minister and Provincial Assembly member Chandraesh Gupta from Rupandehi Constituency No. 5 (2) informed that he has proposed to include projects for schools, roads, irrigation, and health infrastructure in his constituency. According to him, budget has been requested for the upgrade of schools, construction of compounds, toilets, and improvement of educational infrastructure. Similarly, proposals have also been made for the upgrade of Gaudahawa Health Post and Karmahwa Health Post, expansion of health services, and improvement of rural roads.

Gupta also informed that a plan to construct a bridge connecting Gaudahawa area and Shuddhodhan Rural Municipality-2 has also been demanded to be included in the budget.

Provincial Assembly member Baijnath Kalwar from Nawalparasi (West) Constituency No. 2 (2) stated that he has submitted plans to the government that address the major problems of flooding and irrigation in his constituency. He informed that the plans have been proposed with a focus on agriculture and tourism.

He mentioned that farmers in villages around Parasi are affected by irrigation problems, and flooding is also increasing due to the lack of proper drainage systems. He stated that a demand has been made to include necessary plans in the budget to control flooding, as it affects people's homes and arable land.

Kalwar said that plans for infrastructure development to further promote the tourism potential of Ramgram and Panditpur areas have been requested, and priority has also been given to school building construction and drinking water projects.

Provincial Assembly member Bir Bahadur Rana from Palpa Constituency No. 2 (1) said that plans focused on agriculture and tourism have been requested. He stated that budget is needed for programs to attract youth to agriculture, connect returning migrants to commercial farming, and retain farmers in the agricultural profession.

He mentioned that special programs are needed to prevent the problem of crops being destroyed by wild animals, and has demanded budget allocation for it. He also said that special plans have been requested for the promotion of tourism in the Rani Mahal and Shrinagar areas.

Rana stated that the budget should include plans for creating additional tourist attractions in the Rani Mahal area, such as pond construction, expansion of tourist-oriented infrastructure, and promotion of hotels and homestays. He said this will also contribute to the income generation of the local residents.

Provincial Assembly member Ashish Chaudhary from Rupandehi Constituency No. 1 (1) said that plans have been proposed incorporating the needs of all 18 wards in his constituency. He said that due to limited budget, it is difficult to address all demands, so plans related to drinking water, school infrastructure, health facilities, and irrigation have been recommended according to the priority of each ward.

Chaudhary said,