A few weeks ago, the 'Far West Court' held in Dhangadhi, the temporary capital of the Sudurpaschim Province, drew a lot of criticism from the provincial government for not being able to build a permanent capital for the province. The provincial parliament had already settled the issue of the name and capital eight years ago. But since the land issue is a federal matter, the capital has remained temporary to this day. What kind of federalism have we brought that even after the provincial parliamentarians have decided on the capital, it cannot be built.

The issue became very complicated due to the non-cooperation of the federal government. The provincial government has come to the federal government several times to make a request. The request is ongoing, but the capital has not been moved. Either the land-related complications should be resolved by amending the constitution, or the union should facilitate it. But neither has been possible. The provincial government has become a target of criticism for not being able to build the capital. The common citizen is not even aware of all these complications. Therefore, the criticism is natural. However, the union does not feel embarrassed - if the issue has become complicated due to its own reasons. The union government is a facilitator of the provincial government, not a ruler. But the Far West has become a victim of the central government's arrogance. Not only the Far West, but the entire federalism is under the yoke of the union's arrogance.

Contradiction between provincial issues and development models

Nine airports have been built in the Far West. The construction process is ongoing. However, only two airports are currently operational - the airports in Dhangadhi and Bajura. Sometimes planes land at Chainpur, Dipayal and Sanfebagar in Bajhang. Planes have not flown at Tikapur, Darchula and Kamalbazar. Only two of the nine are operational, the expenditure on other airports has been wasted. The same is true of the humidity centers. More than half of the humidity centers are not operational. Because the production to be kept in the humidification center is not in the Far West. Due to various profits, humidification centers have been built before production. On the other hand, this year's SEE results of the Far West were the weakest. The Far West is also at the bottom of the poverty index. The Far West is second from the bottom in economic growth and per capita income. There is no intensive debate on these and other issues. Such issues have not been able to fit into the definition of development. Instead, there are airports and humidification centers.

Provincial economy is not thriving

There are many dimensions of the province in federalism. It is the province that makes federalism work. One of the most important tasks is the development of the provincial economy. But in Nepal, provinces have not been able to work in the provincial economy. The Far West is a province rich in natural resources. It is the province with the largest forest area. The province with the highest potential for hydropower. From the agricultural point of view, it is a region with production from all three geographies, namely Himalayas, hills and Madhesh.

But surprisingly, this province is at the bottom of the poverty index. In terms of herbs, Sudurpaschim is the richest province. Where herbs from three different geographies are found. Sudurpaschim is the only province where 502 types of herbs with medicinal properties have been discovered. There have been some efforts to collect and process herbs, but now the processing centers are closing down in a hurry - due to lack of state protection. Sudurpaschim has not been able to take forward state-protected industrialization. The main reason for this is that the provinces have very few resources.

Approximately 9 percent of the amount goes from the union to the seven provinces. Half of that amount is spent on employees, the rest cannot be used for much. The remaining amount is spent on physical infrastructure when the union does not take charge of physical infrastructure. Second, there is a huge lack of an employee mechanism to work systematically in the province. Employees who have left the center are not accountable and responsible to the province. The provincial government cannot make employees accountable and responsible. Overall, there is no money and no people to work. And how will the results come? The complexity lies here.

But it is also true that the provincial government has not been able to debate with the union. The union's arhankhatan and walking in the presence of the government are the great weaknesses of the province. The provinces should have been able to debate with the union constructively but could not. There is another side. The province has made the current development of the current trend its own development model. The provinces could not connect the issues of production, industrialization and employment based on provincial characteristics. They also brought in imported issues of development, which has not given it a provincial flavor.

Provincial development should have had a fragrance based on local knowledge, skills, technology, originality and its own climate and soil. But everywhere in the province, the union is stinking. The province is not smelling of its own sweat. The Tharu community is a native tribal community of Kailali and Kanchanpur. What kind of development is needed for them? Can't a production system based on Tharu culture be promoted? Can't noodles be discouraged by promoting the dhikri made by the Tharu community? So the problem lies not only in the union, but also in the provincial perspective. They are not interested in protecting and promoting a production system based on culture and nature. The province has failed here. There has been no systematic research on provincial characteristics. A province like the shadow of the union

A unique practice of federalism is going on in Nepal. It is a shameful situation. When the party alliance in the union changes and the government is formed, there is a change in the province as well. The provincial MPs were not able to do the work of changing and forming their own government. The shadow of the union falls on the province. The provincial parliament is supposed to exercise the sovereignty of the province. But they could not do this exercise. Instead, they acted like the shadow of the union. The imitation of development is from the union, the imitation of institutional development is from the union, and the imitation of the skill of forming and dismantling the government is also from the union. This is why the provincial flavor has not come to the province. The union is considering itself too big. From the perspective of the constitution, the three-tier government is equal. But the union is not interested in practicing this according to its essence, and the provinces cannot struggle either.

There is a global belief that regional parties based on identity emerge in federalism. But this belief also failed in Nepal. The regional parties that emerged have also disappeared. Now there is a complex question of how the provinces can be strong. If the federal government and the provinces have a single-party government, a situation has been created where the provinces cannot debate. The federal government is unlikely to change its own methods to overcome this complexity. If the provinces engage in constructive debate with a provincial psychology, this is possible, otherwise there is a danger that the provincial autonomy of the essence of federalism envisioned by the constitution will be weakened. There is a danger that a federalism that appears to have all the elements of federalism but lacks life will remain in practice. This is a big problem. But in any case, the path to strengthening the provinces is fruitful for us. Therefore, if federalism can be filled with life, its taste will also reach the community. It will reach it organically.

Path to provincial restructuring

The issue of police and employees, which is number one on the list of single rights of the province, has not been resolved to this day. Therefore, the first task is to organize the list of single rights. It should not be delayed to define the list of common rights. Especially in federalism, the term "sharing of rights" has been used more. Now it seems that rights need to be shared once and for all - between the three levels of government.

The other aspect is financial management. No matter how well the boundaries of the provinces are demarcated, equality in the economic situation cannot be maintained. It takes some time for the provinces to manage their resources themselves. But right now, the provinces do not have much room to collect revenue. There are no provincial forests either. All the resources of parks, reserves and protected areas reach the union. Space should also be given to accumulate resources, in terms of rights. Even if they get rights, all provinces will not be equal immediately. Until then, the amount distributed by the union government should be more for the weakest province. The Far West is currently the weakest. In this sense, it should receive the most resources.

If social justice and personnel management in financial transfers can be made responsible and accountable to the province, the province will give results faster . Because it stands in the midst of local specialties . It is close to the people . It can take care of its context . Currently, some leaders of the Far West are on the campaign for a 'special province' . In fact, without saying 'special province', if the union can assimilate social justice, it can give a lot of achievements . Because this province is in the cycle of poverty . Therefore, human resources and financial resources are necessary for poverty alleviation .

It is weak in education, so federal investment in education should be increased . The province should formulate policies, programs and strategies based on its specialties and studies and research . If we can run Nepal's federalism in such a way, the province will not take long to give positive results . Work is being done to create a narrative that the province does not even manage its rights but has not been able to do anything . This is like saying that a man with bound feet cannot run. The province has not been able to do much work due to lack of authority. But the unpopularity of the province has increased in the eyes of the general public. It can also be said that the federal government also has a big role to play in increasing the unpopularity of the province. However, it is necessary for the provinces to be restructured in terms of knowledge.