Lawmakers from Province 2 have urged the government to allocate adequate resources in the upcoming budget for the development of the federal unit comprising eight Tarai districts.

Submitting a memorandum to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at his residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday, 11 parliamentarians urged budgeting for agriculture, industry, tourism, transportation, health, Chure conservation, education and sports.

They told PM Oli that the region was struggling to keep pace with other provinces in socio-economic development.

“There was a time when Province 2 was considered among the prosperous regions of the country,” said Suman Raj Pyakurel, a member of the National Assembly. He stressed that the region was currently mired in various problems that hinder economic and soical developement..

“We urged the prime minister to take the necessary measures for the conservation of the Chure range. The existence of the entire Madhes region will be threatened if we fail to protect the belt,” Pyakurel said.They have also urged the PM to launch a special campaign focusing on development of the region.“The PM agreed the province is among the least developed regions of the country and is positive about taking steps necessary for its development,” said Pradip Yadav, a parliamentarian from Parsa.Tweeting after the meeting, PM Oli expressed his happiness at the initiatives taken by the people’s representatives in solving issues related to education, health, agriculture, road, irrigation and flood control.

“The government will address such concerns through its policies and the budget,” Oli wrote on Twitter.The Nepal Multidi-mensional Poverty Index shows that Province 2 has high incidence of poverty despite having plenty of arable land and access to roads. This plains-only province, in a relatively more affluent belt of the country, is home to over 2.5 million multidimensionally poor people. This accounts for 35 percent of all multidimensionally poor people in the country.