Pokhara, June 7

The government in Gandaki Province today made public its policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year, by giving continuity to the programmes of the current fiscal.

Governor Baburam Kunwar of the province made public the policies and programmes. As per the document, the government here will accord top priority to tourism, as in the current fiscal. It has adopted a policy to develop Pokhara as a tourist capital and the entire province as tourism hub.

The budget has adopted a long-term vision of reducing multi-dimensional poverty from 14.2 to 7 per cent within the next four years, and aims to spur economic growth of the province to 10.2 per cent. The policies and programmes have also stressed on agriculture and small and cottage industries.

The government aims to ensure irrigation and achieve a target of increased productivity and production through modernisation and commercialisation of the sector. As per the target, the province aims to be self-reliant on chief agriculture produce in three years and double its food production in five years.

The policies and programmes have planned to develop roads and expand electricity to rural villages. Commenting on the policies and programmes, Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel said the government had failed to bring anything new in the budget for the next fiscal.