Nepal's hill and mountain regions face depopulation, while the tarai plains experience increasing population pressure, leading to imbalanced development
The recent remarks by the Chief Minister of Far-West Province (FWP) clearly highlight his concern over the lack of progress in establishing the provincial capital (PC) of FWP. Although the city of Godawari was declared the provincial capital in 2018 through a vote in the FWP Assembly, not much progress has been achieved in developing an allocated patch of forest land for the purpose. Hence, the FWP has not been able to take decisive steps towards building its capital, and Dhangadhi continues to serve as the temporary administrative centre.
The designation of the provincial capital holds immense significance for the success and effective functioning of the federal system. It is important to reiterate that federalism, marked by the devolution of power to the local and province levels, has come at great cost and pain. This transformation followed decades of experimentation with decentralisation, starting from the Panchayat era, through the subsequent multi-party democratic regimes, and culminating in the establishment of the republic in 2006.
The location of the PC entails flow of human, financial and developmental resources not only within the PC and the immediate vicinity, but also in the adjoining areas, triggering economic growth and development in the wider region. This is especially crucial as Nepal's hill and mountain regions face depopulation, while the tarai plains experience increasing population pressure, leading to imbalanced development.
A recent study conducted by the Regional and Urban Planners Society of Nepal (RUPSON) on behalf of the Government of Nepal has indicated that despite a fair amount of investment, majority of the new towns planned across the Mid-Hill Highway have shown a population decline.
The key lies in balanced regional development (BRD), which promotes equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth across a province by ensuring fair distribution of economic, social and environmental benefits."Examples include investing in infrastructure and public services in underserved areas, promoting diversified economic activities and fostering rural-urban synergy through initiatives like rural tourism. This approach seeks to reduce disparities and create more inclusive and sustainable development across all regions" (Wikipedia).
In the above context, the location of the PC could play a crucial and strategic role towards achieving BRD within a particular province. However, it does not mean that the PC would be seen in isolation, rather it needs to be complemented by a system of rural centres, market towns and cities in a hierarchical order within a particular province. It would be relevant here to make an assessment of the PCs in the seven provinces of Nepal.
The seven provinces of Nepal were formed on September 20,2015, replacing the five development regions. Hetauda, the un-proclaimed growth centre of the Central Development Region during the Panchayat regime, proved to be a very rational choice as the PC of Bagmati Pradesh in terms of its transport linkages and proximity to the Kathmandu Valley – the federal capital. Moreover, with proper planning, Hetauda could be developed further as a counter magnet, which would help to safeguard the Kathmandu Valley's cultural and touristic importance.
Similarly, Pokhara, a major regional economic centre, which has recently been proclaimed as the tourism capital of the country, holds an appropriate and important role as the capital of Gandaki Province. Janakpurdham or Janakpur, a sub-metropolitan city in Dhanusha district, and a hub for religious and cultural tourism with a good railway connection to Jaynagar of India, is being appropriately designated as the PC of Madhesh Province. Birendranagar, the former growth centre of the previous Mid-Western Development Region and the delineated capital of Karnali Province, provides a 'success story' regarding planned development of a new town within a relatively unexplored virgin tract of Surkhet Valley in the past.
Both Pokhara and Birendranagar are contributing to balanced regional development as seen from their growing linkages with the urban/rural centres within the respective provinces, which would be further enhanced with better transport connectivity. Deukhuri, located in the inner tarai part of Dang Valley,is the proposed capital of Lumbini Province in Nepal, replacing Butwal, its temporary capital. The strategic location between two major cities of Western Nepal, Butwal and Nepalgunj, seems to justify Deukhuri as a feasible PC of Lumbini Province.
The provincial assemblies (PA) of Koshi and FWP have delineated Biratnagar and Godawari, adjoining Dhangadhi, as the PCs of the respective provinces. Despite a fair amount of political struggle by the people at large and their representatives in particular, Dhankuta could not be considered as the capital of Koshi. It was despite the fact that Dhankuta has benefitted from three decades of investment in social and physical infrastructure. Similar was the case with Dipayal, the growth centre of erstwhile Far-Western Development Region. It seems political economy played a determining role instead of considerations based on economic and geographical rationales while making the political decisions by the PAs of the respective provinces.
This could imply further impoverishment of the Mountain and the Hill sub-regions in terms of further depopulation of the hills/mountains, and the resulting migratory pressureon the tarai sub-region of both Koshi and the FWP. Hence, it is our strong plea that some course corrections be made so as to revitalise the previous growth centres of the two provinces so that BRD could be achieved.
Malla is an urban ®ional planner and past RUPSON president
