Lumbini: Focus on petty projects leaves multi-year projects in limbo

The Lumbini Province government has allocated a mere Rs 500,000 for the Pidalne-Samadhisthal road in Pyuthan district in 2024/25. This allocation is so small that even ward offices have the authority to allocate budgets of this size.

Another example is the budget allocated for the road to Gaumukhi in Jhimrukh-4 of Pyuthan. This road project has also been allocated Rs 500,000, which is insufficient to build a foot trail, let alone a motorable road.

The provincial government has allocated just Rs 50,000 for the Magarghatta Water Supply Project in Bijayanagar-2 of Kapilvastu. Likewise, Rs 100,000 has been allocated for the Wadsaduwa Water Supply Project in Bijayanagar-7.

Experts say these meager budget allocations are made to appease relatives and party workers. Since these small projects do not require a formal tendering process, they can be awarded directly to consumer committees, which are often filled with relatives and party supporters. This practice leads to the misuse of state resources. These projects, lacking technical studies, cost estimates, and feasibility assessments, cannot deliver anything substantial.

The province also lacks a road master plan which has affected the implementation of road and bridge projects considered the mainstay of development. By allocating small budgets, the provincial government has failed to advance large strategic projects. Hundreds of road and bridge projects are stalled because they receive only Rs 100,000-200,000 when they require millions.

The province government is implementing 258 multi-year road and bridge projects in 2024/25. Some of these projects have been stalled for as long as eight years. In the absence of clear laws and with insufficient allocations, tens of millions of rupees are going down the drain, locals complain.

These projects are in need of a combined Rs 4.82bn. However, the province government has allocated only Rs 2.73m.

A total of 197 motorable and suspension bridges, and 61 roads are under construction across 12 districts of the province.

The Road Infrastructure Development Office in Pyuthan has been working on the Chereneta-China-Jabune Road since 2016. As per the contract, the project was to be completed by mid-June 2023.

Although the project’s deadline was extended to mid-May 2024, it could not be completed due to a lack of budget.

Nagarjun Construction of Kathmandu is building the project.

“We need Rs 1.69m to complete this project. However, it was allocated a mere Rs 100,000 in the current fiscal year,” said Senior Engineer Chandra Sah. “How can the project make progress with such a meager allocation?”

The office, which suffered from a slow work pace in the initial years, is now facing problems due to low budget allocation. “They should have prioritized multi-year projects instead of allocating funds to petty projects,” Sah added.

The situation in Palpa is no different. According to Senior Engineer Basudev Bhandari, chief of the Road Infrastructure Development Office in Palpa, no budget has been allocated this year for the Chilangdi-Chapapani-Ramdi Road which has achieved 80 percent physical progress. Bhandari also said authorities should focus on completing multi-year projects first.

Projects transferred from the federal government to be implemented through conditional grants have been left in limbo due to resource crunches. In the first year of the province government’s formation seven years ago, the federal government transferred 129 projects to Lumbini Province. Ten of these projects are still incomplete.

According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, Lumbini Province, the provincial government has not received funds from the federal finance ministry to complete these projects. The province government needs Rs 187.99m to complete these projects.

The Belbas-Bethari Road in Rupandehi and the Ratachaur-Taltung-Ujungdhara-Harpukot Nayapokhari Maidan-Kotkoteri-Neta Road in Gulmi each need Rs 50m.

Locals have requested the federal finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, who is from the province, to release funds for these pending projects.

Rupandehi district has the highest number of multi-year projects at 38, followed by Kapilvastu (22), Arghakhanchi (11), Dang (20), Bardiya (17), Gulmi (16), Palpa (18), Pyuthan (10), Banke (9), Rolpa (4), and Rukum East (3). Rupandehi, which has been overseeing infrastructure in Nawalparasi district, will now transfer 40 percent of projects and budgets to Nawalparasi.

Bardiya requires the highest budget to complete its pending projects. The district needs Rs 749.47m (including VAT) to complete nine pending projects, according to Senior Division Engineer Binod Kumar Chaudhary, the chief of the Road and Bridge Division under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development of Lumbini Province.

Acting Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development, Bhumishwar Dhakal, said that there would be changes in budget allocation from the next fiscal year. “The province government will now prioritize multi-year projects. Only then will other projects receive resources,” he added. “The province government is finalizing the Province Transportation Network Master Plan. We will stop allocating funds for petty projects once the masterplan comes into force.”

Secretary Bhimarjun Pandey also said that the ministry was collecting detailed data on ongoing projects. “The future projects of the provincial government will align with the provincial transport master plan,” Pandey added.