Harka calls for priority budget for Dharan development projects

KATHMANDU: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Harka Raj Rai (Sampang) has urged the government to prioritize key development projects and public welfare issues in Dharan in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget and programs.

Speaking during Monday’s House of Representatives session on the principles and priorities of the Appropriation Bill, Rai stressed that the government must remain accountable to Parliament and address pressing public needs.

Arriving with placards, the lawmaker criticized the state of basic services, stating that citizens are still struggling to access essentials such as clean drinking water, roads, and even salt despite constitutional guarantees.

He reiterated a list of demands previously submitted to the Finance Minister, calling for adequate budget allocations for Dharan and surrounding areas.

Rai’s key proposals included launching the “Saptakoshi–Dharan Drinking Water Project” to resolve the city’s long-standing water crisis, constructing embankments along local rivers including Sardu, Seuti, Sera, and Aandheri to protect settlements, and establishing a sanitary landfill site for proper waste management.

In the infrastructure sector, he demanded upgrades and blacktopping of major roads including Dharan–Barahakshetra–Nadaha, Bhalwachowk, and Chatara–Suryakunda routes, along with improved connectivity between wards of Dharan. He also called for the construction of motorable bridges over Koka, Masane, and Nisan Danda areas.

Beyond local development, Rai raised broader humanitarian issues, including family reunification for Bhutanese refugees, formation of a task force to resolve problems faced by freed Kamlari workers, and formal designation of positions for non-gazetted employees in national parks.

He also proposed reconstructing one damaged structure inside Singha Durbar through volunteer labor, stating that his party would complete the work without government expenditure through “shramdan” (voluntary contribution).

Rai concluded by criticizing the state of governance, contrasting constitutional promises with ground realities, and emphasizing that citizens continue to face shortages of basic needs such as food, shelter, and infrastructure.