Koshi Province govt unveils policies and programmes

Biratnagar, May 21: Chief of Koshi Province, Parshuram Khapung, presented the policies and programmes of Koshi Province government for the upcoming fiscal year, 2083/84.

He unveiled the policies and programmes on behalf of the government in the meeting of Koshi Province Assembly on Thursday.     

Khapung shared that the second development plan of Koshi Province was under the implementation phase with a vision of building a 'happy and prosperous province'. He said that the province government was at work to achieve the goals set by the province and to make the province economically strong, capable and citizen-friendly with the reforms in policy, law and institution.     

"The province government is committed to institutionalizing the achievements it has made so far, creating hope and trust in the citizens, advancing socio-economic transformation, curbing corruption to maintain good governance and reinforcing the federal system as per letter and spirit of the Constitution," he said, informing that the policies and programmes for the fiscal year, 2083/84 would stress effective enforcement of exclusive and concurrent rights of the federal, provincial and local levels in line with the Constitution.     

Balanced mobilization of resources, considering geography, distribution of population, gender equality, poverty reduction, environmental protection and sustainable development has aimed by the government, according to him. Khapung said the policies and programmes emphasize the construction of inclusive, sustainable and quality structures by giving high priority to infrastructure development in the areas of education, health, agriculture, physical infrastructure and information technology.     

Public-private partnerships and private sector investment would be promoted to reinforce local economy. Expansion of tourism activities with construction and upgrading of tourism infrastructure and promotion of tourist destinations is paid heed, Khapung said, adding that economic prosperity would be achieved by expanding market for agricultural and industrial goods produced within the province, promoting exports and developing tourism.     

Other features of the policies and programmes as the Province Chief stated are quality of public service, development of administrative capacity, governance reform, and coordination and collaboration with federal and local levels. The Provincial Coordination Council and the Administrative Coordination Council will be made further active to make robust the relationship among the federal, provincial and local levels.     

The Chief Minister 'Dashboard' programme would be made further effective to implement and monitor programmes and budgets, plans and projects and align them with the result framework.     

The rights of Dalits and marginalized communities would be guaranteed by protecting and promoting their fundamental rights and human rights; the provincial ministries and agencies restructured and integrated to speed up government performance; and the administrative organization reviewed based on the workload and through the organization and management survey (ONM).     

In a bid to foster inter-province coordination and collaboration, a Chief Ministers' Conference will be organized, Khapung shared.     

The policy and programme states that tea and coffee will be exported by maintaining international standard and quality. Tea testing laboratories and research centres will be set up and run effectively. Even the tea conference of international level will be organized.     

The document has 128 points. It has introduced various schemes to identify and utilize youth talents. 'Adolescent Girl Empowerment and Self-Defense', 'Capable Daughter', 'Koshi Province Visit Year' are some other schemes.     

Before Province Chief read out the policies and programmes, Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki had tabled the document in the Assembly meeting. The next meeting of the Province Assembly is scheduled for May 24.(RSS)