The federal budget has emphasized the construction of tunnels in Lumbini province. Siddhababa tunnel in Lumbini will be completed within 2 years and the feasibility study of tunneling in 5 more places will be done. The budget has addressed that India's Naitanwa to Bhairahawa will also be connected by rail.

The budget presented by Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel on Thursday has made the industrialists and businessmen of his home state happy and excited. The budget mentions the construction of the Bardghat-Dumkibas tunnel on the border of Lumbini province. Similarly, the possibility of tunneling from Shivpur in Kapilvastu to Bhaluwang, Ranighat-Bhurigaon, Babai-Chinchu, Hattisar-Babai in Dang, which is the state capital, will be studied. The possibility of railways is also included in the budget.

The government has informed that the budget has been allocated to start the construction work of border railway connecting Nautanwa-Bhairawa and Nepalganj Road-Nepalganj. Similarly, it is also mentioned in the budget to start the extraction of petroleum products in Dang. It will connect Lumbini with the national plan of energy security in the future, Finance Minister Paudel said while presenting the budget on Thursday. It is claimed that Tulsipur Umhanagarpalika-13 of Dang in Lumbini Province has a petrol mine. The locals complained that although the petrol extracted once in the former Phulbari village was processed, it could be used, but after that no further process was carried out. There is a mine in the Phulbari area and the pipes buried during its excavation are still left there. 

The plan to complete the construction of Surung Marg under Nagadhunga-Siddhababa Expressway in the coming year has also been presented in the budget. Which will ease the traffic from Kathmandu to Lumbini. Finance Minister Paudel has announced important projects in Lumbini from agriculture, tourism, industry, infrastructure, education, international airport, sports to energy and railways. The government will further encourage and support international airlines to fly from Bhairahawa next year. Finance Minister Paudel announced concessions for flights from Bhairahawa and Pokhara. In his budget speech, he said, "Airline companies that have provided international air services in Nepal will be given more incentives and concessions to operate a certain number of flights from Bhairahawa and Pokhara." The budget also mentions that special concessions will be given to operate cargo services from Gautam Budh International Airport. Similarly, it is mentioned in the budget that a detailed project report of Tarigaon Airport in Dang will be prepared. 

The Siddhababa tunnel will be commissioned by the government within the next two years. The government believes that after the construction of the tunnel connecting Rupandehi and Palpa, the traffic on the Siddharth Highway will become easier. The 1100 meter long Siddhababa tunnel was 'break through' in Magha. Even now, the construction work is intense. The government has allocated 2 billion 600 million to complete the construction of Nagadhunga and Siddhababa Surungmarg. 

The government has announced that the Siddharth highway connecting Lumbini and Gandaki will be upgraded and made a double lane. Finance Minister Poudel said that the government is going to start the expansion of Siddharth Highway with the aim of bringing Indian tourists to Mustang by expanding the road connecting Sunauli to Palpa, Syangja to Pokhara to 2 lanes. He said that Tinau Diversion of Kaligand, which was launched as a pride project in Rupandehi, Nawalparasi and Kapilvastu areas, has also been continued. This plan, which is considered an important project for electrification and irrigation, was mentioned in the budget allocation speech for the coming year.

The government has allocated an amount of 2.7 billion to complete the Bhari-Babai multi-purpose diversion project in Banke within the next two years.

The government is going to give rent concession to SEZ, Butwal and Nepalgunj industrial areas operating in Bhairahawa of Rupandehi. Industrialists are happy with it. Although Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is in operation in Bhairahawa of Lumbini, industrialists are reluctant to operate there because the rent is expensive. Similarly, industrialists are protesting that rents are high in Butwal industrial area as well. The announcement that modern industrial zones will be built in places including Noubasta in Banke, Motipur in Rupandehi and Laxmipur in Dang is expected to create employment, industrial expansion and increase in local production.

The government has also put forward a plan to complete the Lumbini Guru Yojana. Lumbini master plan will be implemented in the budget, structural development, beautification, digital guide system etc. have been put forward. The master plan has been stalled for a long time. Similarly, in the budget, the goal of developing Lumbini and Swargadwari as religious, cultural and tourist destinations has been presented. Upgrading the road to facilitate access to Swargadwari has also been prioritized. The government is going to proceed with the infrastructure construction of the medical college under construction in Butwal for health. 

For irrigation, the government has set a goal of completing the Babai-Praganna-Badkapath irrigation project within the next three years, speeding up the Sikta and Greater Dang Valley irrigation projects, and completing the headworks and powerhouse of the Bheri-Babai diversion project within two years. In the field of energy, there is a plan to start the Naumure multi-purpose project, complete a detailed study of the Kaligandaki-Tinau transfer project and confirm the construction framework, and intensify the study and preparation of the Madi-Dang and Gwarakhola projects.

In the field of infrastructure, funds have been allocated to complete the construction of the Belhia-Butwal four-lane commercial road and to upgrade the Kakrahwa-Saljhandi-Sandhikhark-Dhorpatan road, Sahid Marg, Rapti Highway, etc. towards the expansion of the road network. 83 crore has been allocated in the budget for the promotion of high-value crops in Lumbini, Karnali and the central and high hill districts of Far West.

Industrialists and businessmen are excited

Industrialists and businessmen of Lumbini province are excited after the budget of the federal government. President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Lumbini Province Tank Prasad Pokharel said that the most practical and best budget has been received so far. He said that most of the demands given by the private sector have been addressed and included, which has added to the enthusiasm, and the budget has been made with many improvements in infrastructure, education and health. "The budget has heard the suggestions of the private sector for the first time, this is positive for us," he said.

Dilip Sapkota, president of Rupandehi Udyog Sangh, said that overall the budget is balanced and if there is political stability, we can be optimistic that it will be implemented. "It is business-friendly, maintaining a different rate of VAT, tax exemption for new industries, special relief for women entrepreneurs, exemption from rent charges in industrial areas, exemption from SEZ are positive," he said, "specially addressed to small, domestic and small industries and women." He said that the budget was good overall. 

Finance Minister Paudel has also put forward a plan to extract and export stone, gravel and sand. The budget includes an announcement to produce, use and export river and mineral products after environmental impact assessment and study. In order to increase the internal revenue of the government, the government has put forward a plan to export stones, gravel and sand from Nepal to India.