Gandaki CM Meets PM, Discusses Legalizing Local Liquor and Cannabis

Pokhara. Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendraraj Pandey met Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen) on Monday. He drew the Prime Minister's attention to the overall problems of Gandaki. Specifically, Pandey put forward the demand to open up cannabis cultivation and domestic liquor. 'If we can legally brand and commercially produce local liquor made with our own indigenous technology, it will greatly contribute to the province's economy. But the federal government needs to ease some pathways,' Pandey said, 'The Prime Minister is positive about the proposal I put forward and has committed to providing the necessary legal facilitation immediately.' Pandey stated that the federal government needs to facilitate excise duty and industry registration for domestic liquor. The provincial government has already issued the Domestic Liquor Act and Regulations. Once the working procedure is formulated, it will be implemented. Similarly, the issue of opening up cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes was also discussed. The Prime Minister has shown great interest in controlling the potential misuse that may arise from opening up cannabis cultivation. The provincial government has also issued an Act for cannabis cultivation. Chief Minister Pandey said that he briefed the Prime Minister about this and requested facilitation. 'He has committed to immediately removing the obstacles for domestic liquor. He is also positive about cannabis cultivation,' Pandey says, 'He is also convinced that regulating and commercializing cannabis and local liquor will create local employment.' Besides this, a 9-point formal request was submitted to the Prime Minister regarding the resolution of the province's physical infrastructure, border crossing management, and legal complexities. A demand was also made to open the track for the 8-kilometer road from Dumkibas to Triveni in Nawalpur, which is a significant problem. This section of the Hulasi road falls within the Chitwan National Park area. Due to the road not being built, residents of two local wards are forced to travel a detour of about 51 kilometers through Lumbini Province to reach their own municipality's administrative center. The attention of Singha Durbar was also drawn to the fact that work on the Lokahakhola and Punditar industrial areas, proposed as pride projects of Gandaki Province, has not progressed due to the inability to acquire the necessary land. Along with this, a demand has been made to transfer the ownership of land, buildings, vehicles, and other infrastructure currently used by the province and local levels to the respective levels. Gandaki has also demanded immediate land measurement in Manang, Mustang, and some areas of northern Gorkha where government and public land surveys are yet to be completed. Due to the lack of land measurement, despite the abundant potential for fruit and agricultural production, commercial farming cannot be undertaken. A request has been made to arrange for the use of such land for agricultural development through contracts. The demand has been made to bring the forest areas under the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) and Manaslu Conservation Area (MCAP) under the province's control and to give local levels the right to collect, manage, and utilize riverine materials such as stones, gravel, and sand within the conservation areas. For this, the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 2029, and Regulations, 2053, need to be amended. Although the Provincial Development Problem Resolution Committee had made decisions and sent them to the federal government multiple times before, they have not been heard. A demand has been made to build organized infrastructure and quarantine facilities at the Triveni border crossing on the Indian side connected to Gandaki Province, and to develop border infrastructure at the Korala border crossing on the Chinese side and the Ruila border crossing in Gorkha. Chief Minister Pandey urged efforts to keep the Ruila border crossing in northern Gorkha, which opens only for one month a year, open all the time, as locals face hardship in commuting to the Tibetan market and importing daily necessities. The government's attention has been drawn to the demarcation of Pokhara's Phewa Lake and the distribution of compensation after clarifying the standards. A demand has been made to give the province the authority to construct Bailey bridges, and immediate attention has been requested for the damage caused by the Modi River flood in Birethanti, a tourist village in Kaski. The work on 190 drinking water projects operated under the federal conditional grant for the fiscal year 2082/83 has come to a halt due to a lack of budget allocation. This requires 1.65 billion rupees. The Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to manage the approximately 200 million rupees budget deficit for an additional 4 road projects transferred from the federal government. The Prime Minister has responded positively to Pandey's demands. 'He has given a positive response to almost all the demands,' he says, 'The discussion lasted for about an hour. I have openly discussed the overall development of the province.'