Kathmandu: The Bagmati Province government has tabled its policy and program for the upcoming fiscal year 2082/83, placing a strong emphasis on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of physical infrastructure. This announcement was made by Province Chief Deepak Prasad Devkota during a meeting of the Province Assembly, highlighting the administration’s commitment to coordinating with various government levels to achieve these objectives.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the government’s policies and programs aim to complete the province’s pride projects, multi-year projects, and sequential projects within a specified timeline. The initiative seeks to make project selection systematic and transparent while managing the province project bank to ensure good governance in budget preparation and implementation.
The policy further aims to foster partnerships between the public, private, and cooperative sectors, recognizing the private sector’s crucial role in generating production and employment. It also plans to transfer infrastructure built with full or co-investment of the province to the local level.
Province Chief Devkota detailed that the existing organizational structure and human resources will be reviewed, with unnecessary structures being abolished or merged. The province aims to enhance its administrative and monitoring systems through electronic means, focusing on projects that are profitable and contribute to internal income generation, while maintaining financial discipline and frugality in public spending.
The Bagmati government also plans to expand the scope of provincial revenue and control revenue leakage by standardizing tax rates across provinces. Priority will be given to the development and upgrading of provincial highways by updating the provincial road and transport master plan. Additionally, the establishment of a provincial-level infrastructure and quality laboratory is on the agenda.
Efforts will be made to regulate ride sharing through new legislation, increase the use of artificial intelligence and information technology in construction processes, and implement a digital transformation action plan. A provincial strategic action plan with a zero-tolerance policy against corruption will also be prepared, alongside the continuation of the Model Ward Socialist Program and the Innovation Promotion Program at the local level.
Province Chief Devkota underscored the policy’s focus on promoting agriculture and supporting farmers, which includes constructing and maintaining small irrigation structures and grain storage facilities to boost agricultural production.