Gandaki Province is full of natural beauty, cultural splendor and geographical diversity. The province is an attractive destination for tourists due to its glaciers, valleys, flora and cultural diversity, and has high potential in the hydropower and agricultural sectors.

In the past, the international trade route passing through the middle part of this province was a part of the Silk Road, and the bravery shown by the people of this region in various wars, including the World War, earned the fame of brave Gorkhali. This province, which has an abundance of natural resources and a glorious history, if it can fully utilize its potential, will soon become a prosperous province and will contribute significantly to the prosperity of the country as a whole.

The total population of this province, which occupies 14.6 percent of the country's total land area, is 2.466 thousand, which is 8.4 percent of the country's total population. Most of the territory of the province is hilly and mountainous, so the population density is low. In the financial year 2080/81, the share of this province in the national gross domestic product is 9.1 percent.

In terms of per capita income, this province ranks second after Bagmati. The per capita gross domestic product of the country is 1434 US dollars while that of Gandaki is 1557 US dollars. The poor population in this province is 11.9 percent, which is less than all other provinces. In the past, agriculture and working in the foreign army were the main sources of income for the residents of this province, but in recent times, the tourism sector has also become an important source of income.

The main source of income for the residents of the province is agriculture. The contribution of agriculture sector to the gross domestic product of the province is the highest i.e. 25.7 percent, which is higher than the national average (24.1 percent). Apart from the traditional cultivation of cereals and vegetables in this province, the cultivation of orange, apple and timur is increasing. First, the name of Pokhara's oranges was used, and later it gradually spread through Gorkha, Syangja, and recently, the market demand for Myagdi's oranges is high. 

Apple cultivation in Nepal also started from Mustang district of this province. Although apple production has started in other provinces as well, till now the apple production of Mustang and Manang of this province has occupied a large part of the total production. Timur, which was previously collected from the forest and used commercially, has started to be cultivated. Majority of the farmers are engaged in farming as well as animal husbandry and dairy production. But they are mostly subsistence and small scale. Sheep and goats are reared in the Mustang region, but recently, due to lack of pasture, this profession is shrinking.

Due to different types of land, soil and weather, Gandaki province is suitable for cultivation of various types of food, vegetables, fruits and herbs as well as animal husbandry, but for some years the arable land has become barren and the dependence on imported goods from other provinces and abroad is increasing. There is a lot of suffering in the agricultural business, the state support is nominal and the investment in agriculture does not rise due to fluctuations in production, market and prices.

After the people of this province started to join the army of British India at that time, Nepali youths went to work abroad and became Lahure. Besides the British and Indian army, the youth of this province have started going for employment in countries including Gulf countries, Japan and Malaysia. At present, Japan, Korea and European countries are the main foreign employment destinations for the youth of this province. Due to the exodus of youth, the land is becoming barren here as in other provinces, while women in the rural settlements are forced to do tasks that were not done before like plowing and going to malami.

Gandaki is an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists. Pokhara has been declared the tourist capital. Many foreign tourists choose Gandaki province as their next destination after Kathmandu.

There are various tourist spots here including mountains like Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Machhapuchhre, Fewa, Rupa, Begnas, Damodar Kund, Gangapurna and various parks and protected areas are located here. Apart from that, trekking routes such as Dhorpatan Sikar Reserve, Ghandruk, Punhill, Annapurna Base Camp, Thorangla Pass and settlements of Magar and Gurung communities are major tourist spots in this province. But due to climate change, human encroachment and unorganized and short-sighted construction of physical infrastructure, tourism attraction is rapidly deteriorating. 

Machhapuchhre mountain has become snowless. Fevatal is narrowed. Trekking routes that used to spend 20-25 days earlier have become shorter and more polluted due to road access. The old originality is disappearing in the settlements, which used to have houses of stone mud and slate roofs, now large buildings of concrete and zinc have been erected. In such a situation, it is necessary to emphasize on conservation and development of new attractions in order to remain an attractive destination for tourists. Although delayed, the construction of Pokhara International Airport has been completed, and the basis has been prepared to bring in a large number of foreign tourists in the coming days. 

Various hydropower projects are under construction in the Gandaki, Madi, Marsyangdi, Seti, Myagdi and other rivers of this province, while some projects are generating electricity. However, many of the hydropower project developers in this province have not started the construction of the project in time, but have put 'rivers in the bag' to benefit from the license business, so the province has not been able to benefit from the hydropower production. Due to the delay in the construction work of the 1200 megawatt reservoir Budhigandaki hydroelectric project, which is the largest hydroelectric project in the province, this province has been deprived of multifaceted benefits.

The use of federal structure

Some countries with economic and social conditions like Nepal have become prosperous in the last 6-7 decades. But due to not being able to use the abundant natural resources and human capital properly, Nepal is currently in the list of the poorest countries in the world. Realizing that the centralized governance system with various distortions under the past political system was responsible for this, a three-tier state structure was arranged in the country, consisting of union, state and local levels. 

It was arranged that provinces and local levels should formulate and implement policies and plans for themselves according to their characteristics, strengths and needs. It is expected that after the provincial and local level governments will make maximum use of their potential and strength and the work of economic-social transformation of the country as a whole will be able to take a leap, it seems that finally the distortions and anomalies under the centralized governance system have reached the provincial and local levels.

During the construction of the three-level federal structure, it was thought that the union would only conduct large projects and programs of national importance, the province would do the work of development and job creation within the province, and the local level would mainly provide public services. But looking at the nature of the work done in the past seven years, it seems that the emphasis of all three levels has been on the construction of physical infrastructure, there has been duplicity in projects and programs and the issues of production, employment and social development have been overshadowed.

When creating legal and organizational structures, there are still questions such as centralized mentality, delays in the creation of necessary laws and regulations by the union, confusion in manpower management at the provincial and local levels, and illiberal thinking dominating financial transfers, if these issues are not addressed in time, three There is a risk that not only the benefits that can be taken from the federal structure of the level will be lost, but later this structure itself will become unpopular. But no matter how many rules and structures have been made, the work that can be done by maximum utilization of them is not done. 

According to the new structure, after the formation of provincial governments in all seven provinces for the first time, it was seen that the Gandaki provincial government started playing a leading role in institutional development and system building. But along with the political change in the union, the government change in the province has also affected the Gandaki province more and some undesirable activities have also been seen in the Gandaki province.

Although there are many areas to be improved, the work of the local level has been relatively satisfactory throughout the country and some municipalities of this province have been able to show promising signs from their operations. The economy of the country is currently in a phase of relaxation.

This is due to the fact that for a long time, the focus has been on trade instead of production and employment, the increase in consumption of imported goods from remittances due to young people going abroad for employment, the inadequacy and inconsistency in finance and monetary policy, and the fact that the financial resources available in the country are focused on real estate and other property-related sectors. The economy has reached its current state. Naturally, Gandaki province is also suffering its effects. It is necessary to focus on production and employment for the long-term prosperity of Gandaki province, not only to eradicate the current economic stagnation.

A sector that can create employment-self-employment for many people in a short time is agriculture. With the development and expansion of the agricultural sector, the import of agricultural products can be reduced and the basis for establishing industries that use agricultural products as raw materials can also be prepared. But the benefits from this sector cannot be realized unless the traditional farming system is removed from the subsistence farming system.

For the modernization and commercialization of agriculture, a 20-year strategic plan has been implemented nationally in the past, and the next 20-year plan is being implemented. In this case, Gandaki province mostly copied the Union's program, so it does not seem that there will be any different results.

Therefore, to modernize and commercialize agriculture, the province should not delay in establishing large-scale commercial farms for agriculture, animal husbandry and herb cultivation based on chaklabandi. It is certain that the doors of prosperity will open in the province if the subsistence farming and animal husbandry done by households on small pieces of land can be removed from various types of incentives and agriculture can be turned into a profitable business. 

Tourism is another potential sector that can increase production and employment in Gandaki. Due to various reasons, the provincial government, municipalities and the private sector should join hands to stop this and add new tourist attractions. There are new footpaths, hunting areas and accommodation facilities for senior citizens that can be developed as more tourist destinations in the province.

The construction of new routes including Dhaulagiri, Annapurna Parikrama should be completed quickly due to the lack of access to existing footpaths. Currently, Dhorpatan hunting reserve of this province is the only hunting area in the country, and some places in Gurja and Manang and Mustang in Myagdi can be developed as medium and small hunting areas. There is great potential to develop some places including Gurja in Myagdi as Sangrila and Meditation Center. If tourism cannot be linked with agricultural production, tourists coming from abroad will consume goods imported from abroad and a large part of tourism earnings will go abroad.