Plans to create industrial villages in 10 districts of Karnali stalled

By Our Correspondent,Surkhet, Mar. 23: The plans to develop industrial villages in 10 districts of Karnali Province have been stalled. In the fiscal year 2019/20, the federal government announced the development of a village with a plan to establish one local level one industrial village and bring them into operation.

For this, the government announced a budget of up to Rs. 9.2 million for a local level. It was said that the budget would be managed to build the physical structure after making the DPR of the industrial village at the local levels.

The industrial village to be constructed in Karnali to be built to create jobs at the local level by using local resources, raw materials, technology and skills, is now at a standstill. The Karnali Provincial Government has prepared to hold the Karnali Investment Development Conference on May 1 and 2 this year.

The investment conference, which has been included in the government's policies and programmes since 2019/20, is still suspected whether it will happen or not. The provincial government claimed that the investment conference was being prepared by forming a steering committee under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Raj Kumar Sharma, who is also the chairman of the provincial planning commission, at the cabinet meeting on February 11, 2024.

It is said that the investment conference is being planned so that the private sector can identify the security of its investment, and investment-friendly environment and prepare proposals to guarantee investment returns and security. Karnali province has great potential for agriculture and livestock, herb and forest products industry.

The regional economic data of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) shows that there is a possibility that this province can be developed as a model province for the cultivation of herbs and organic agriculture by establishing related industries. 

However, these possibilities do not seem to be in the specific policy of the provincial government. The main reason for the lack of investment in the industrial sector in Karnali is infrastructure development.

Karnali still does not have easy access to transportation, there is no sustainable electricity infrastructure for industrial operations. Because of this, stakeholders said that the private sector is not ready to invest heavily in Karnali.

In order to link Karnali to development, it is necessary for the infrastructure of connectivity, digital technology and electricity infrastructure. Accordingly, experts stressed that the development model should be moved forward based on the principle that geography should be linked with development rather than Karnali's remote.

There is not a single road in Karnali that operates around the year. According to the Nepal Electricity Authority, around 67.5 per cent of the citizens of Karnali are still far from access to electricity. There is still no reliable telephone service in Karnali. Only 40 per cent of citizens across the province have access to the internet.