PM Oli Holds Virtual Meeting with Chief Ministers, Discusses Governance and Provincial Challenges

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli held a virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of all seven provinces on Friday, focusing on public service delivery, good governance, provincial progress, and challenges faced by local governments.

For the first time, the Prime Minister connected with the Chief Ministers from the ‘Action Room’ at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar. The two-and-a-half-hour meeting emphasized the need for continued dialogue between the federal and provincial governments to ensure smooth governance and development.

PM Oli assured the Chief Ministers of future discussions and shared plans to visit provinces and attend Provincial Assemblies to strengthen coordination. He also urged provincial leaders to leverage IT facilities to improve governance at the district level. Highlighting digital advancements, he noted the success of online classes for SEE students, with 57,000 students participating in additional lessons in core subjects. Emphasizing the importance of education in national development, he encouraged similar initiatives at the provincial level.

During the meeting, the Chief Ministers briefed the Prime Minister on the fiscal and physical progress of their respective governments and raised concerns about the need for increased grants for multi-year projects, simplified procedures for land acquisition and tree removal, additional budget allocation for disaster management, and addressing human resource shortages. They also urged the federal government to take steps to curb smuggling at customs points, promote Gandaki Province as a tourism hub, expedite under-construction road projects, resolve compensation disputes for the East-West Railway, and reconsider project implementation details to enhance income-generation opportunities for the provinces.

Government Chief Secretary Eak Narayan Aryal assured that the issues raised by the Chief Ministers would be taken into consideration and presented at meetings of the Council of Ministers and with secretaries. The meeting was attended by PM’s Chief Advisor Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Economic Advisor Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, and senior government officials.