National
Representatives unaware of development plans in their areas
Elected representatives of the local units of Surkhet said they too are facing difficulties while implementing plans as the provincial government did not coordinate with them.Chandani Kathayat
The representatives of Gurbhakot Municipality in Surkhet say they are unaware of the ongoing development plans in their own local units. The elected representatives blamed the provincial government for not informing them about the allocation and implementation of various local projects.
Hasta Bahadur Pun, mayor of Gurbhakot Municipality, said, “The provincial government did not consult with us while selecting the plans, so how are we to know what those plans are?”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development has already completed the construction of an embankment at Pipaltadi in Gochekhola, Gurbhakot. “I don’t know about the project. It’s the provincial government’s fault for not coordinating with the local unit while selecting and implementing plans,” said Pun.
Dhir Bahadur Shahi, chairperson of Chaukune Rural Municipality, said he is also unaware of the ongoing projects and future development plans in his local unit. “Though the provincial government has allocated budgets worth millions of rupees for Chaukune, development plans are yet to be implemented,” said Shahi. Since the provincial government has not implemented any plans, locals have started to question the existence and workings of the local unit, according to Shahi.
Bhupendra Bahadur Chand, mayor of Bheriganga Municipality, said they have not distributed any budget for the projects because they don’t know about the development plans.
“The provincial government did not coordinate with us while implementing these plans,” said Chand. There are 40 irrigation and embankment plans and eight drinking water plans in Bheriganga Municipality.
This lack of coordination is not limited to Gurbhakot, Chaukune and Bheriganga only. Elected representatives of the local units of Surkhet said they too are facing difficulties while implementing plans as the provincial government did not coordinate with them. The local units, in turn, told the provincial government to implement the plans themselves.
However, Krishna Bahadur BK, irrigation division chief, claimed that they have been coordinating with the local units while making and implementing development plans in all units.