‘Lumbiniko Samarthya’, an interaction programme focusing on implementation of federalism and exploring economic opportunities of Lumbini Province, took place in Bhairahawa on Saturday.

Organised by Kantipur Media Group, the one-day event brought together politicians, businessmen and other leaders and representatives from various sectors to discuss the province’s potential. The programme saw discussions on federalism, economy, and tourism.

In his keynote speech, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel remarked that Lumbini has an unlimited potential. “The state should leave no stone unturned to cash in on its potential,” he said.

Paudel’s speech gave way to the first session of the day that discussed federalism, its implementation and institutionalisation. It was a pertinent topic for discussion, coming at a time when political forces, especially those on the right, have been intensifying calls to scrap the federal system of governance.

“When the country went federal, we had the governing bodies but not the required resources,” said Lumbini’s Chief Minister Leela Giri, one of the panellists. “Laws were not formulated. In the past five years, the Lumbini provincial assembly has made over 72 laws to pave an easy legal path.”

Another panellist for the session, Aman Lal Modi, minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, underscored the need of sustaining the federal system as it was achieved through a political struggle. He assured that the Cabinet will finalise the federal civil service bill and send it to the Parliament for endorsement. “Federalism will be implemented effectively,” he said.

Meanwhile, Laxmi Pandey, chair of the National Association of Rural Municipalities, stressed that the functioning of the three tiers of the government should be strengthened for the institutionalisation of federalism. “If the local level strengthens, the provinces and the centre will be strengthened automatically,” she said.

In his turn, Nepali Congress Lumbini Province Parliamentary Party leader Dilli Chaudhary said it is high time for all political parties in the province to pressurise the central level and prove their relevance. “The federal government should ensure the provinces enjoy their constitutional rights,” he said.

When asked about the reason behind the failure of budget expenditure in development in Lumbini Province, Giri said that as elections were held this year, the six months witnessed less capital expenditure and that the province would put maximum efforts into improving the capital expenditure.

Lack of budget expenditure and inadequate budget allocation at the local level are major problems in Nepal’s economy and development, said speakers at the event.

Giving the keynote speech, vice-chair of Lumbini Development Fund Avadhesh Kumar Tripathi said in the 45 years of implementing the Lumbini Guruyojana, only 12 percent of the estimated budget has been spent. “Our view is to make a greater Lumbini incorporating all the heritages and areas that are connected to Lord Buddha,” he said.

Speaking at the second session of the event, titled ‘Municipalities and Infrastructures’, Chair of Bagansakali Rural Municipality of Palpa Saraswati Darlami said that local units cannot work effectively for the infrastructure development on their own as there are problems in the budget allocation by the centre and the provinces. “They allocate insufficient budget, so we can’t work for infrastructure development as we want to,” Darlami said.

UML Secretary Gokarna Bista agreed that the budget allocated to local units has not been sufficient. “In some cases, there might have been problems in the selection of the projects, based on the demand and accessibility,” said Bista, a lawmaker representing Gulmi.

Other speakers at the session focused on developing infrastructure at the local level.

Lawmaker Dhawal Shamsher Rana stressed that local municipalities should be well-prepared to tackle disasters ranging from fire to disease outbreaks.

Mayor of Butwal Sub-metropolitan City Khelraj Pandey said that they have prioritised human development—particularly education and health—while formulating the city’s policies and programmes.

Speaking at the third session of the event titled ‘Obstacles in economy’, former Nepal Planning Commission vice-chair Govinda Raj Pokharel said the budget expenditure on the development works is worrisome. “We are also failing in capital expenditure,” he said. “Due to political intervention, national projects are taking a lot of time to complete.”

There are other serious problems plaguing the country’s economy, speakers at the event said.

Sonali Gurung, managing director of IT Group of Industries Rupandehi, said that emerging businesses are having a tough time due to high interest rates.

Speakers also stressed the strengthening of the private sector to improve the economic condition of the country. Gurung said that the government, banks and financial institutions should be flexible enough to encourage the private sector.

Lumbini Province Chair of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries Krishna Prasad Sharma stressed enhancing the capacities of the private sector to make the economy livelier. “We are over-dependent on imports as our domestic production is minimal,” Sharma noted. “The government should focus on strengthening the capabilities of the private sector to meet the demands from domestic production.”

Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said a clear indication has appeared suggesting interest rates will come down in the near future.

The next centre of attraction of the event was the Gautam Buddha International Airport.

In his keynote speech, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel pledged that the Gautam Buddha International Airport will be brought to full-fledged operation in near future. “No one can stop this airport from going into a full-fledged operation,” he said.

The fourth session, titled Paryatan ko Udaan, or a leap forward for tourism, also discussed the issues surrounding the airport that was launched last year.

Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Sudan Kirati pledged to put maximum efforts to strengthen the province’s tourism industry. He said diplomatic efforts for the completion of the Bhairahawa International Airport have already begun. “We will try as much as we can to ease aviation in Nepal,” he said.

Other speakers focussed on measures required to better the province’s tourism industry.

“Though Lumbini is a province full of diversity, there is a shortfall in publicity,” said Mohan Chaudhary, chair of the Bardiya chapter of Hotel Association Nepal. “Due to the lack of foreign tourists, tourism is not thriving.” Chaudhary added that the airfare for foreign tourists should be the same as that for domestic tourists.

Minister Kirati offered an alternative perspective on this, saying we should focus more on our domestic tourists instead. “We should bring people from Sagarmatha to visit Lumbini and vice versa,” he said.

Rachana Panta, Lumbini province chair of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), said her organisation has been putting efforts to promote places of tourism importance in various provinces. “In order to create attractive packages, the international airport should be fully operational first,” she said. “And the construction of roads underway in the region should be completed.”

Chandra Prasad Dhakal, chair of the IME Group, said Nepal’s government should focus on promoting Lumbini as the birthplace of the Buddha around the world. “Our business personalities are able to build hotels and required tourism infrastructures,” he said. “What our government needs to do is promote Lumbini among the 50 crore Buddhists around the world.”