People's needs have changed. Today, they are not asking only for roads. They are asking for opportunities – jobs, better education, reliable health care, and a future they is secure. But what they are getting does not always match these needs
We often say that education, health, and per capita income show how developed a country is. That may sound like a textbook idea, but in reality, it is quite simple. If people can send their children to good schools, get treatment when they are sick, and earn enough to live with dignity, life becomes easier. And that is what development should mean.
In Nepal, this question of development is closely connected with our villages. For a long time, villages have been at the centre of our identity. But because of our geography – hills, mountains, and scattered settlements – development has never reached all places in the same way. Even now, there are villages where basic services are still not easily available.
In the last two or three decades, the government has tried to improve this situation. Roads have been opened, electricity has reached many areas, mobile networks have expanded, and drinking water facilities have improved. After the new constitution was promulgated in 2015, local governments have also been given more authority and budget. In theory, this should have made development more practical and closer to people's needs. But when we look closely, a different picture appears.
In many places, development has come to mean road construction. Almost every local body seems to focus on building or expanding roads. Of course, roads are important. They have made travel easier and connected villages to markets and services. But they have also made something else easier – leaving the village. This is where things start to feel uncomfortable.
Today, villages have facilities, but they no longer feel alive. Just last month, I went back to my hometown, Arghakhanchi, after about 15 years. I was honestly surprised at first. The changes were very visible. The old houses with thatched roofs were almost gone. In their place were tin-roofed houses. Roads had reached places where we never imagined before, and the main road was properly pitched. Electricity was there, phone networks worked well, and vehicles were easily available for travel to the district headquarters or even to Butwal. For a moment, it felt like real progress, but that feeling did not last long.
As I walked around, I noticed that the fields were empty. Land that used to be full of crops was just lying idle. Even good, fertile land was not being used. The village was quiet in a way that did not feel normal. When I talked to the elderly people there, they said something simple but very heavy: "There are no young people here anymore."
The young have left for education, for jobs, for better opportunities elsewhere. Some are in the cities, some in the Tarai, while many have gone abroad. What remains is mostly older people, living their days in a place that has changed physically but feels emptier than before.
This is not just about one village. We can see similar patterns in many parts of Nepal. Rural populations are decreasing, while migration is increasing every year. So we have to ask ourselves honestly: what kind of development are we really achieving? If development builds structures but cannot keep people, is it enough?
We often focus on what is seen – roads, buildings, towers because they are tangible proof of achievement. But they do not always solve real problems. In many villages, farming has become difficult. Wild animals like monkeys and wild boars destroy crops. Young people do not see a future in agriculture. Jobs are limited. Schools and health services are still not robust enough to give people confidence. Yet we continue to invest in the same kind of projects. Maybe the problem is not with implementation, but with how we view development.
People's needs have changed. Today, they are not asking only for roads. They are asking for opportunities – jobs, better education, reliable health care, and a future they is secure. But what they are getting does not always match these needs. Even from an economic point of view, this is a mismatch. The demand is one thing, but the supply is something else. And when that happens, results are never satisfying.
There is also another side we cannot ignore. Unplanned construction, especially that of roads, has started to affect the environment. Landslides are more common, soil is eroding, and weather patterns are becoming less predictable. Development that creates new risks cannot be called real progress. So, perhaps it is time to slow down and think again.
Maybe we need better planning, not just more construction. Maybe we need to think about where and how people can actually live well. In some cases, it might make more sense to develop planned settlements where services can be properly managed. At the same time, agricultural land should not be neglected. It needs protection and support.
The idea of development itself has changed around the world. It is no longer just about physical structures. It is about people, their well-being, their choices, and their ability to live meaningful lives.
Nepal also needs to move in that direction. If it is not possible to provide everything everywhere, then we should at least plan in such a way that people can access basic services fairly.
Migration should not happen because people have no other option. It should happen because they choose to move. Right now, many villages look developed from the outside. But if you stay there for a while, you begin to feel something is missing. Because in the end, development is not about how many roads reach a village. It is about whether people still choose to call it home.
Joshi is an economics lecturer at Morgan International College, Kathmandu