KATHMANDU, Jan 31: Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha has urged relevant agencies to solve the problems seen in Green Industrial Village for Women Entrepreneurs in Panchkhal. 

Addressing a discussion program with the relevant stakeholders at the Ministry of Home Affairs, DPM Shrestha said that the representation of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN), which has branches in 66 districts of Nepal, should be ensured in the Green Industrial Village for Women Entrepreneurs in Panchkhal.

On Monday, Home Minister Shrestha discussed the issue of Green Industrial Village for Women Entrepreneurs in Panchkhal with concerned bodies including officials of Women Entrepreneurs Federation, representatives of Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and Chief District Officer of Kavrepalanchowk.

Minister Shrestha requested the relevant agencies to include the FWEAN in the Green Industrial Village for Women Entrepreneurs of Panchkhal. “It seems that the FWEAN should also actively participate in Panchkhal's Green Industrial Village for Women Entrepreneurs. It is essential to ensure coordination with concerned authorities, discuss and address the issues seen," Home Minister Shrestha said. Minister Shrestha said that we should proceed according to the tripartite agreement reached earlier.

The government is planning to invest for the construction of Green Industrial Village for Women Entrepreneurs at the active initiation of the FWEAN, the umbrella organization of women entrepreneurs. Recently, Panchkhal Municipality and South Asian Women's Development Forum (SAWDF) have tried to build the park, bypassing the FWEAN.

Recently, SAWDF was chosen as a partner by Panchkhal Municipality, excluding FWEAN, for the park’s development. Shova Gyawali, president of the FWEAN, said, “It is a matter of happiness to establish a park for women entrepreneurs, but it is sad to keep out the umbrella organization of women entrepreneurs.”

"The government has advanced the process of constructing the women's industrial village in Panchkhal at our initiative. However, it has been proposed that the women's industrial village in Panchkhal will be built by keeping the FWEAN out," she said. “The project does not seem to progress well bypassing the organization that has branches in 66 districts. 

In Panchkhal, plans are underway to establish a Women Entrepreneurs Green Industrial Park (WEGrIP) on a 157-acre area. For this, the municipality has provided the land while the government has allocated the necessary budget.

Dissatisfaction has surfaced among women entrepreneurs as the establishment of the park has been expedited without ensuring coordination with concerned stakeholders. Chief District Officer of Kavrepalanchok, Rudradevi Sharma, said that everyone will coordinate and move ahead.

Chandrakala Paudel, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, said that the ministry will hold discussions with all concerned agencies and make the necessary facilitations to resolve the current problems. "In the past, there was a tripartite agreement for the establishment of a women's industrial village in Panchkhal," she said. "Now, we will convene all parties and work towards necessary facilitation." 

The ministry has allocated a budget of Rs 30 million for the establishment of the industrial village, she informed Republica. "The ministry has made a program to spend that budget through Panchkhal Municipality," she said. 

The ministry has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Finance at the rate of Rs 150 million for each province for the establishment of women's industrial villages in all seven provinces. “But our proposal is yet to be approved," Paudel mentioned.

 
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