Only Rs 10 million set aside for some of the 54 towns
KATHMANDU, June 20: To stop migration and bring about balance in regional development, the government launched a plan to build new towns at 10 places touched by the mid-hill highway 12 years ago. Later, the number of such new cities was added. Currently, the number of such towns has reached 54, but the government has not allocated an adequate budget for the development of these towns.
According to Yek Raj Adhikari, project director of New Town Project, in most of the 54 new proposed towns, not even enough money has been allocated even to build one building. According to the Ministry of Urban Development, the progress of the new town has only been 5 percent in the past 12 years.
As the number of new towns is being added, the progress has been zero. The government has allocated Rs 2-3 billion each year for the development of new towns.
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In the current fiscal year 2022/23, the government has allocated Rs 3.17 billion for new towns. However, the progress in the construction of new cities does not seem to have gained momentum. In the upcoming fiscal year 2023/24, the government has allocated Rs 2.4 billion for the development of new towns. However, high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Urban Development state that the lack of sufficient budget and technical staff has hindered the progress in the construction of new towns.
Minister for Urban Development Sita Gurung said that the construction work of new cities is extremely slow and said that out of 54 new cities in the coming fiscal year 2023/24, Basantpur in Tehrathum and Sanphebagar in Sudurpaschim (Far-western region) will be given high priority.
The joint secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development and the Project Director of the New Town Project Adhikari admitted that there has been significant delay in the progress of new cities over the span of 12 years. He said, "The budget allocated for the new town is insufficient." Among the 54 towns, only 10 million have been allocated for some towns. The amount of money to build a building has been set aside for a new town,' said Adhikari, “Can a new town be built with just Rs 10 million?” he added.
According to a senior official from the Ministry of Urban Development, as per the initial concept of the new town, it is seen that the progress has only reached 5 percent so far. The official said, "This is a very pathetic situation." According to the ministry, the progress of Phidim of Panchthar is somehat better in comparision to the progress of other new towns. Mohan Bahadur BK, municipality head of New Town Panchthar, claimed that the progress of New Town Panchthar has been more than 80 percent in the current fiscal year. According to the Project Director Adhikari, lack of technical staff is another important reason for the slow progress of the new town except Panchthar. According to the officials of the Ministry of Urban Development, the construction of the new city has been stalled because the government did not provide the necessary technical staff. Currently, there are 20 vacant positions out of the 28 designated positions for branch officials. According to the Coordination Office, among the 41 engineers recommended by the Public Service Commission, only four have been assigned to work specifically for the new town.
The New Town Project has only hired employees who are working in their respective offices throughout the country. Not all of them have been hired solely for the New Town Project, they are also given the responsibility of looking after other planning offices of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction.
“One of the employees of the new city project has been given the responsibility to look after the other office, not according to the rank, the employee form municipality has been sent,” said of the official of the Coordination Office. According to those officials, in all the 10 offices established to build the new city, there is no head of the office according to the designated posts. In some places junior employees are given the responsibility of head as substitutes.
On the other hand, while the constructions of 10 new towns are still in the planning phase, the government announces new plans every year, naming them as ‘Smart Towns’ and ‘Himalayan Towns’. According to the New Town Project Coordination Office, 54 programs have been announced in the name of ‘Smart Towns’ and ‘Himalayan Towns’ so far. The government had previously planned to initiate the construction of new cities in 10 locations starting from the fiscal year 2010/11.
