Investigative Stories

The Madhesh provincial government’s office—the ‘Madhesh building’—is located on the premises of now-defunct Janakpur Cigarette Factory. The factory’s old godown also lies within those premises, housing about 4,000 bicycles. These bikes were purchased in 2079BS under the ‘Beti Bachau, Beti Padhau’ scheme (literally, ‘save daughters, educate daughters’), dubbed a provincial pride project, and were meant to be distributed to school going girl children. The bikes have now turned into wreckages.
The project was scrapped after allegations of corruption in the purchase of the bikes. And the purchased bikes were not distributed in fear of allegations.
It’s been nearly eight years since provincial governments were formed in the country. During this period, the Madhesh province government launched mega projects such as an agriculture university, Madhesh Institute of Health Sciences, the ‘Beti Padhau-Beti Bachau’ scheme, and Ram Janaki Stadium, among others. Following in the federal government’s footsteps, these initiatives were dubbed ‘pride projects’. But while some of these projects were shuttered due to a lack of regular budget, others lie in disarray. Still others are progressing at snail's pace.
How self-interests have hampered the projects
Prof Dr. Bhogendra Jha, former vice-chair of Madhesh provincial planning commission, says that these projects have been beset by corruption and irregularities. “Pride projects are supposed to serve the interests of the people,” Jha says. “But the natives of the province have been humiliated. Ironically, these projects have earned notoriety because of leaders known as the true champions of the Madhesi cause.”
Governments changed and their priorities did, too. For instance, Saroj Yadav, former chief minister from Janata Samajbadi Party, couldn’t carry through the pride projects launched by his predecessor and fellow party leader, Lalbabu Raut.
“I admit that I couldn’t move some pride projects forward but it is not because I didn’t want to,” Yadav says. “The projects earned a bad reputation and resulted in the filing of corruption cases. That’s why we couldn’t move them forward.”
Yadav added that he had made an effort to introduce 50 seats for MBBS level at the Madhesh Institute of Health Sciences. Noting that large projects see success only with collective efforts from officials, political parties and other stakeholders, he claimed that he was unable to work as promised due to the lack of cooperation.
The construction of Ram Janaki Multipurpose Stadium was announced during Yadav’s tenure. He had said the provincial government would invest Rs2 billion for the stadium’s construction. The plan, however, was limited to paper.
Transportation project grinds to a halt
The ‘Province Transportation Program’ was introduced in Mangsir, 2077BS, backed by then provincial minister of physical infrastructure and transportation Jitendra Sonal. As many as five buses were purchased at the cost of Rs30.9 million. They were supposed to ply the Janakpurdham-Birgunj and Janakpurdham-Rajbiraj routes. But the minister succeeding Sonal, Nepali Congress’s Ramsaroj Yadav, didn’t show any interest in continuing the project.
These buses were parked for nearly 16 months. Later, the provincial government decided to distribute them to various institutions—two to Health Science Institute, and one each to the agriculture university; agriculture training center; and provincial research and training center.
Yadav, the former minister, says that a working procedure should have been in place before purchasing the buses. “The then government had made an immature move by purchasing the vehicles without having a plan and manpower in place,” Yadav says. “These kinds of projects should be launched after plan-making, feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis. If this process is not followed, the project won’t see success.”
Meanwhile, Yadav’s predecessor Sonal says that the project was not carried through due to fears that the previous government would take credit for its success. “When I was the minister, I had introduced projects spanning irrigation and job production and provincial transportation but the succeeding government didn’t implement them,” Sonal says.
Amid competing claims and counter-claims, a case was lodged at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority on the charge that the buses were purchased without following the due processes, like conducting a feasibility study and forming a working procedure. The case is currently being investigated, according to the commission’s branch office in Bardibas.
The ‘Beti Bachau, Beti Padhau’ program is mired in corruption
When the ‘Beti Bachau, Beti Padhau’ program was launched during the tenure of then chief minister Lalbabu Raut, it was claimed to be a foundation of women’s empowerment. Programs such as insurance for girls’ education and bicycle distribution made headlines. But this program, too, ended prematurely.
On 18 Magh, 2080BS, the Special Court convicted then secretary Yamprasad Bhusal and engineer Bhagawan Jha of corruption in the purchase of the bikes.
Arun Sah, a parent from Janakpurdham-4, says that the program held potential to benefit his daughters but was swallowed by corruption. “Over 5,000 bicycles are rotting away at the godown,” he said.
‘Chhori Siksha Beema’ scheme is no longer active
The ‘Chhori Siksha Beema’ scheme—literally, Daughters’ Education Insurance—has also closed. “The daughters of the province will possess Rs300,000 in insurance when they are born,” chief minister Raut had announced while launching the scheme then. “We aim to increase the amount to Rs2 million in 20 years if we get support from the local government.”
But the number of insured girls moved at a snail’s pace in the intervening years—from 5,666 in 2075/76BS to 14,453 now. As many as 9,456 who had applied online in 2081/82BS were unable to get insured under the scheme.
“About 20-25 parents come to us to have their daughters insured,” says Priyanka Yadav, the program’s focal person. “It would be good if those whose forms have already been filled could get insured.”
Provincial minister of education Rani Tiwari says that the ministry backtracked on the scheme after banks increased the premium amount by three-fold. “We couldn’t do it this year, we will see what we could next year,” she said.
The current provincial government doesn’t appear interested in continuing these projects that lie in disarray. The government meanwhile has introduced new slogans in its policies and programs document this year, claiming it is working for women’s empowerment—‘Beti Jindabad’, ‘Uddhamsheel Mahila, Samriddha Madhesh’, ‘Mahilake Bikas-Gharke Bikas, Gharke Bikas-Samaajke Bikas, Sammajke Bikas-Deshke Bikas and ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Ujjwala Program’, among others. But none of these slogans and programs have come to fruition.
The shrinking budget for Institute of Health Sciences
The Madhesh Institute of Health Sciences, established in Chaitra 2077BS, is currently dealing with a budget crunch. “We received a Rs170 million budget this year, up Rs20 million from last year, but it is still not enough to expand quality health and education services,” says Dr Ramnaresh Pandit, the institute’s rector.
The provincial government has disbursed Rs70 million for operation costs and Rs100 million for educational activities. But of the Rs170 million, Rs120 million is spent on salaries, so the current budget is not enough to run the current services more effectively let alone expanding the services.
The institute currently runs MBBS, BNS, Bsc. Nursing, BPH, and BSC MLT programs. Likewise, it also runs MD in Obstetrics and Gynecology, MD in Pediatrics, MD in Internal Medicine and MD in General Surgery programs.
As per the Medical Education Act, the institute should provide a hundred percent scholarship to students in Master’s level and 75 percent in Bachelor’s level. These scholarships should be funded by the federal government.
But since the institute is under the provincial government, the federal government hasn’t disbursed the amount. Currently, as many as 12 students pay to study at the institute, from which it receives Rs18 million yearly, which is not enough to provide scholarships to other students, according to Pandit, the rector.
The institute received around Rs150-170 million yearly from patients seeking cure but this amount goes into the salaries for its about 250 employees and is used for lab management, Pandit informed.
“The provincial government’s assistance alone is not enough,” says Satrughan Prasad Singh, provincial minister for health and population. “The institute is facing difficulties as the federal government hasn’t disbursed any amount for its operation.”
Agriculture University faces resource crunch
The Madhesh Agriculture University is another of the provincial government’s pride projects. But the university’s situation is so dire that eight professors are handling all classes run under four streams.
The university, considered important for its potential to produce quality human resource for agriculture industry, was inaugurated on 27 Mangsir 2078, jointly by then chief minister Lalbabu Raut, chair of the Madhesh-based Janata Samajbadi Party Upendra Yadav, then provincial finance minister Shailendra Prasad Sah, and minister for social development Nawal Kishor Sah.
The construction started on the 26 bigha 8 kattha land in Rajbiraj-12 that was provided to the provincial government but it remains incomplete due to budget crunch, according to vice-chancellor Dr Baidyanath Mahato.
The university, which is currently run out of a rented building in Rajbiraj-3, runs classes under four streams—agriculture science, livestock health and science, ichthyology, and food technology science.
“The university can be a boon for the whole Madhesh region, where traditional farming is dominant,” says Dileep Mandal, who studies agriculture science at bachelor’s level at the university. “But we are currently facing a lack of professors. And we haven’t been able to carry out research effectively.”
The government had provided a seed capital of Rs317.6 million to the university in the fiscal year 2078/79BS. But the budget started shrinking thereafter. “Only Rs40 million was disbursed this year, against our demand of Rs400 million,” says Mahato, the vice-chancellor. “Last year, Rs1 million was disbursed while we were promised Rs100 million.”
Manish Suman, spokesperson of JSP Nepal, accuses the government of prioritizing small-scale projects instead of crucial ones like the agriculture university.
Roshan Janakpuri, a political analyst, says that the university has also been a victim of the party’s rivalries. Projects introduced when one party is in power are not carried through when another party comes to power, he said. “The agriculture university could make a significant contribution to the development of agriculture in the entire country but the government is not interested in investing in it,” he said.
Dr Surendra Labh, a professor of economics, also says that change of priorities with change in government has hampered the university project as well. “This phenomenon has left large and important projects in limbo,” he says.
Published in Kantipur on 26 September 2025
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