Karnali CM complains about lack of support from federal govt

Kathmandu, Dec. 13

Chief Minister of the Karnali Province, Raj Kumar Sharma, has complained about the lack of support from the federal government for development initiatives in the province.

Speaking at an interaction programme organised by the National Planning Commission (NPC) at Birendranagar in Surkhet on Wednesday to solicit suggestions on the draft of the 16^th Plan, Chief Minister Sharma said that the province wanted to move onto the path of rapid development but there were not enough supports from the federal government, according to a statement issued by the NPC.

Vice-Chairperson of the NPC, Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha is leading a team that includes Member Secretary, Dr. Toya Narayan Gyawali and Joint Secretary Mahesh Bhattarai to obtain suggestions from the federal and local stakeholders in Karnali to make the national plan more inclusive and effective.

Chief Minister Sharma said that it was the dream of the provincial government to make its own plans and achieve rapid development. However, our dream could not be realised due to the lack of support from the federal government, he stated.

Karnali province is lagging behind in social and economic development including infrastructure compared to other provinces. 

"There are no domestic flight services within the Karnali province while the condition of the road network is also very poor. We are not backward, we are just being left behind," Chief Minister Sharma said, "We should get compensation."

VC Dr. Shrestha said that less developed regions should catch up with the more developed regions. Stressing the need for rapid development of Karnali province, he said that the upcoming periodic plan will be objective and realistic, and for that, the NPC has collected from all areas including provinces.

Yogendra Bahadur Shahi, Vice-Chairman of Karnali Province Planning Commission, said that due to the non-cooperation of the federal government, there was a problem in progressing some projects.

He also complained that the rescue and relief works in the aftermath of the November 3 earthquake in Karnali were done without the participation of the Provincial Planning Commission.

However, the federal system has created a path for inclusive and demand-based development in the province so the 16^th plan should strengthen federalism, said Shahi.

The interaction was attended by all the ministers of the provincial government, vice-chairmen and members of the provincial planning commission, heads and deputy heads of the district coordination committees, private sector, political parties as well as experts from the academia. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 December 2023.