KATHMANDU, JUNE 2
As many as 15 local levels, including four municipalities and 11 rural municipalities of Karnali Province, have been selected under the Local Infrastructure Support Programme as a pilot project.
According to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the local levels were selected on merit basis out of 57 local levels of the province that had submitted the Expression of Interest for the LISP. The programme will be implemented with the UK government, the World Food Programme and the United Nations Development Programme.
The local levels selected for the programme are from Kalikot, Salyan, Surkhet, Humla, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Dolpa, Jumla and Mugu. Those local levels include Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality, Barekot Rural Municipality, Dullu Municipality, Simkot Rural Municipality, Tola Rural Municipality, Simta Rural Municipality, Tanjakot Rural Municipality, Soru Rural Municipality, Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality, Subhakalika Rural Municipality, Darma Rural Municipality, Bheriganga Municipality, Kharpunat Rural Municipality, Raskot Municipality and Nalgad Municipality.
According to the MoFAGA, this programme has been designed with the aim of improving the local governments' ability to respond to the demand of rural citizens for gaining access to local infrastructure services, thereby creating ample job opportunities and enhancing local economic development.
The LISP will also provide technical assistance and performance-based capital funding in a bid to improve prioritisation, delivery and resilience of local infrastructure. It also strives to address the service requirements of innovative and climate-resilient approaches.
It seeks to develop a common support framework for local infrastructure in Nepal that will help fill the funding and capacity gaps so as to expedite local infrastructure development.
Earlier, the federal government had announced the 'High Hilly and Mountainous Area Prosperity Programme' to improve the living standard of people in the local levels, which comparatively lag behind in Human Development Index. The procedure aims to introduce programmes related to integrated settlement development, physical infrastructure development and livelihood improvement.
As per the MoFAGA, projects or programmes will be operated at the local levels of high hilly and mountainous areas of Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces.
The federal government will contribute maximum 90 per cent of the total budget, whereas the local levels are obliged to bear a minimum of 10 per cent of the total cost under the High Hilly and Mountainous Area Prosperity Programme.
However, the federal government may increase the grant amount on the basis of population of the local level, Human Development Index, poverty rate and needs of economically and socially backward groups.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 03, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
