Democracy and development
Ultimately, the goal of any of the political systems -- either it is a multiparty system or partyless system or one-party system – should be for the prosperity of the nation and the people. If the system cannot achieve these two goals, better, the system has to be scrapped.
Politically, different sectors are dissatisfied with the present political system we are exercising. The Tarai parties, Netra Bahadur Chand led Nepal Communist Party, pro-monarchist and the Hindu followers including many other groups are dissatisfied with the present constitution imposed by the Westerners and the Shyamsharan gang in India by influencing those corrupt foreign puppet political leaders. The present establishment in India has not yet recognized the constitution promulgated six years ago. Today, practically, the system has been proved dysfunctional.
Talking about economic prosperity, if we walk with the present speed of development, Nepal, perhaps, will permanently remain in the group of the least developed countries. It took decades to complete the Melamchi drinking water project. In fact, King Birendra had taken initiative to bring the Melamchi water to Kathmandu five decades ago. The detailed project report was prepared and the government had started the search for the fund to construct the project. Later, Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai took the initiative to complete the project. Even after signing an agreement with the Asian Development Bank in 2007 for completing the project within five years at the cost of 17 billion 430 million, finally, in 2021, it became possible to bring the Melamchi water in Kathmandu by spending above 34 billion rupees, just double than the initially estimated cost. Melamchi is an example that how corrupt leaders and bureaucrats were milking the project by delaying it. Indeed, the Melamchi project is an example of rampant corruption that taking place in the country.
Just last week, the Public Account Committee in the House of Representatives gave directives to scrap the deal with the construction company on the construction of tunnels and bridges in the Kathmandu-Nijgadh express road constructed by the Nepal Army. This is an attempt to delay the completion of the project. We believe the express road is a game-changer project. We don’t deny that there could be manipulation in rewarding the construction contractor/s. This could be investigated and responsible authority should have been punished. Scrapping the deal is intended towards delaying the project resulting in an additional cost to complete the project. How the Public Account Committee took such a decision without thinking about the loss that the nation should bear!
This scribe is worried that whether the fast track is also going to face the fate of Melamchi because of those irresponsible political leaders! In fact, this is an attempt to drag the Nepal Army into controversy.
The Budhigandaki Hydropower Project is the other project enlisted in the project of national pride. The government is now collecting 10 rupees per litre of petrol and diesel to manage the fund for the project. Petroleum consumers are paying the tax without any objection. Already, the government has collected 60 billion rupees from the public, still, the operation modality of the project has not been finalized. If the construction works were started along with the collection of the tax on the project, already, the project would have started to generate electricity. Budhigandaki is also a game-changer project for Nepal which could end the import of electricity from India even during the dry season. The project could supply enough water for the irrigation of land in the Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces. Moreover, along with the generation of electricity from the project, it would significantly contribute to substituting import of the petro-products, which would reduce the trade deficit the country is facing. The political leaders in the government are solely responsible for delaying the project.
It is funny to state here that due to lack of the law, the two trains brought around eight months ago, have been kept in the garage. Why the government and the House of Representatives are seen reluctant in the operation of the railway even after completion of the railway line and also the arrival of the rails! Odd to note that the Public Service Commission issued an order to stop the recruitment of the staffers on a contract basis.
It seems, the multiparty democracy, particularly in Nepal like country, is a hurdle for economic prosperity.
If we go back to history, the era from December 1960 to February 1972 when King Mahendra had assumed the executive power and introduced a partyless Panchayat system, is considered as the period of multi-sectoral development, including the development of infrastructure and industrialization in the country. The development process was very smooth from 1972 to 1989 when King Birendra had directly ruled the country. Along with the introduction of the multiparty democracy, the economic downfall of the country started. We started to see all kinds of anomalies in governance. The leaders in the multiparty democracy are solely responsible for the destruction of this beautiful country.
To conclude, the present system, as well as the political leaders, have already been failed in all sectors, let's scrap the system and reject the political leaders. Let all the Nepalis stand together to fight against anarchism, bad governance, mal-practice imposed in the name of "loktntra"!