Question 1 What is the issue, and why does it matter?
In FY 2081/82 Lumbini collected 72.24 per cent of the revenue (excluding grants) it had estimated and spent 71.57 per cent of its budget; 63.07 per cent of its spending came from what the Auditor General calls internal sources. The Auditor General also found that 16 Lumbini ministries or central bodies had not prepared consolidated financial statements, the most of any province listed. By Jestha 25 of FY 2082/83, the province had spent 44.85 per cent of its budget. The plan lists a weak revenue base and rising current spending among its main problems.123
The choice is how to improve outcomes in this province, who benefits first, and which institution can act. The figures below belong to the stated reporting period; they are not a real-time measure of today’s conditions.
Question 2 What do current law and policy say?
Federal: Sites of archaeological importance and ancient monuments; tourism policy and fee; international airports; national parks (Sch. 5 items 9, 19, 27, 29, 34). Provincial: Tax on tourism (Sch. 6 item 4); tourism concurrent with the federation (Sch. 7 item 18); museums (Sch. 6 item 8). Local: Tourism fee (Sch. 8 item 4); archaeology, ancient monuments and museums shared by all levels (Sch. 9 item 12).4
Federal: Customs and excise; international trade, ports and quarantine; international borders (Sch. 5 items 7, 9, 18). Provincial: Intra-province trade; industry, trade and business (Sch. 6 items 11, 20). Local: Local market management; business tax (Sch. 8 items 4, 10).4
Federal: Health policy and specialised hospitals; central universities; grants on the Fiscal Commission's recommendation (Sch. 5 items 15, 16; Art. 60). Provincial: Health services; provincial universities and higher education (Sch. 6 items 8, 9). Local: Basic and secondary education; basic health (Sch. 8 items 8, 9; Sch. 9 items 2, 3).4
Provincial executive power rests with the Council of Ministers. The Chief of Province (governor) performs constitutional and legal functions, generally on the Council’s recommendation and consent; the governor is not the department delivering these services. Provincial revenue and expenditure estimates go to the Provincial Assembly.5
Question 3 What is known, uncertain or disputed?
Known
In FY 2081/82 Lumbini collected 72.24 per cent of the revenue (excluding grants) it had estimated and spent 71.57 per cent of its budget; 63.07 per cent of its spending came from what the Auditor General calls internal sources. The Auditor General also found that 16 Lumbini ministries or central bodies had not prepared consolidated financial statements, the most of any province listed. By Jestha 25 of FY 2082/83, the province had spent 44.85 per cent of its budget. The plan lists a weak revenue base and rising current spending among its main problems.123
Uncertain
A province-wide number does not identify the worst-served wards or prove the same problem in every municipality. Before spending, establish a current local baseline, service quality, staffing, access barriers and the full operating cost.
Disputed
The policy choice is how to balance universal access, concentrated investment, affordability and fiscal sustainability. The alternatives below are Policy Nepal’s discussion options derived from the problem evidence, not claims that officials or parties have endorsed them.
Questions 4–5 What are the options, and what do they cost and achieve?
Options are listed in no particular order. Policy Nepal does not recommend one; real policies often combine them.
A
Repair delivery and accounting before expanding projects123
Publish the status of existing commitments, procurements, unpaid liabilities and audit observations, then fund completion of viable works and resolve documentation gaps.
Benefits
- Makes unfinished work and unresolved observations visible without treating every irregularity as corruption.
Costs
- Requires technical staff, reliable asset and contract registers, and timely accounts.
Trade-offs
- Stopping weak projects can be politically difficult; faster spending is not necessarily better value.
What does implementation require?
- Assign each observation to an accountable office, record recovery or regularisation separately, and publish completion evidence alongside expenditure.
Improve project selection and realistic revenue planning123
Choose projects with designs, land arrangements, procurement readiness and operating budgets; base revenue estimates on collectable resources and legal tax powers.
Benefits
- Can reduce abandoned assets, overlapping schemes and mid-year funding gaps.
Costs
- Preparation and appraisal require upfront staff time and funding.
Trade-offs
- Stronger own revenue must not impose arbitrary fees or exclude poor households from essential services.
What does implementation require?
- Publish appraisal criteria, approved budgets and quarterly physical progress; compare like-for-like fiscal years and mark partial audits.
Combining options
Start with a verified baseline and maintenance of functioning services, then test additional investment against the same outcomes. Publish who pays for capital costs, recurring costs and any household charges; an unfunded operating plan is not a sustainable solution.
Question 6 Who is responsible?
Shared
Buddhist heritage and tourismFederal: Sites of archaeological importance and ancient monuments; tourism policy and fee; international airports; national parks (Sch. 5 items 9, 19, 27, 29, 34). Provincial: Tax on tourism (Sch. 6 item 4); tourism concurrent with the federation (Sch. 7 item 18); museums (Sch. 6 item 8). Local: Tourism fee (Sch. 8 item 4); archaeology, ancient monuments and museums shared by all levels (Sch. 9 item 12).4
Shared
Trade, customs and the borderFederal: Customs and excise; international trade, ports and quarantine; international borders (Sch. 5 items 7, 9, 18). Provincial: Intra-province trade; industry, trade and business (Sch. 6 items 11, 20). Local: Local market management; business tax (Sch. 8 items 4, 10).4
Shared
Health, education and moneyFederal: Health policy and specialised hospitals; central universities; grants on the Fiscal Commission's recommendation (Sch. 5 items 15, 16; Art. 60). Provincial: Health services; provincial universities and higher education (Sch. 6 items 8, 9). Local: Basic and secondary education; basic health (Sch. 8 items 8, 9; Sch. 9 items 2, 3).4
Provincial
Chief Minister, Council of Ministers and Provincial AssemblyProvincial executive power rests with the Council of Ministers. The Chief of Province (governor) performs constitutional and legal functions, generally on the Council’s recommendation and consent; the governor is not the department delivering these services. Provincial revenue and expenditure estimates go to the Provincial Assembly.5
Question 7 What have parties and leaders said and done?
What was said or promised is shown apart from what was recorded as done. Every entry needs a dated source. A missing entry means the position is not established, not that someone opposes or is neutral.
This dossier presents official evidence and research options. It does not assign a position to a chief minister, governor, mayor or political party without a dated source specific to this issue.
Said or promised
Position not established in reviewed sources.
Recorded actions and outcomes
Position not established in reviewed sources.
Question 8 What would progress look like, and when do we check again?
IndicatorLatest official figureOfficial targetRevisit
Completed and functioning projects compared with money spent123
Not established
No official target found
2026-10-20
Audit observations resolved by recovery, regularisation or advance settlement123
Not established
No official target found
2026-10-20
Sources
Grouped by type of evidence. Government plans show what government intends; they are not proof of results. Party material shows what a party says.
Constitution & law
- The Constitution of Nepal (English translation, as amended by the Second Amendment, 2020), Schedules 4–9 — Nepal Law Commission, Government of Nepal, Promulgated 20 September 2015; amended 28 February 2016 and 18 June 2020 (as stated in the document). Schedule 4, list for 'Province No. 5', pp. 190–192; Schedule 5 (federal) items 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32, 34, pp. 193–195; Schedule 6 (provincial) items 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 20, pp. 196–197; Schedule 7 (federal–provincial concurrent) items 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 23, 25, pp. 198–199; Schedule 8 (local) items 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, pp. 200–201; Schedule 9 (all three levels) items 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, p. 202. Checked 2026-10-11
- Constitution of Nepal, English translation with first and second amendments — Nepal Law Commission. Articles 162, 166, 207–208; Schedules 6–9. English translation; Nepali text authoritative.. Checked 2026-10-13
Government plans & policy
- आर्थिक वर्ष २०८३/०८४ को बजेट वक्तव्य (Budget speech FY 2083/84) — Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, Lumbini Province Government, 2083 BS. Paras 16–20 (provincial growth, GDP Rs 937 billion and 14.2% of national GDP, per-capita GDP US$1,208, 98.6% electricity access; FY 2082/83 estimates), printed pp. 5–6 (PDF pp. 7–8); para 24 (44.85% of budget spent to Jestha 25), printed p. 7; paras 55–64 (tourism, Lumbini as wellness destination, Rs 1.84 billion for Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Transport), printed pp. 15–17 (PDF pp. 17–19); paras 152–153 (total Rs 37.3845 billion; split; sources), printed pp. 39–40 (PDF pp. 41–42); para 154 (industry registration fee waiver excluding liquor and tobacco), printed p. 41. Checked 2026-10-11
- लुम्बिनी प्रदेशको दोस्रो आवधिक योजना (आ.व. २०८१/८२–२०८५/८६) (Second Periodic Plan) — Lumbini Province Planning Commission, Lumbini Province Government, 2081/82 BS (plan period 2081/82–2085/86). 1.4 review of first plan (Gautam Buddha International Airport's effect), printed p. 3 (PDF p. 16); 2.2 main problems and 2.3 opportunities and challenges, printed pp. 6–8 (PDF pp. 19–21); 5.3 tourism (background, 283 destinations, problems, opportunities incl. Tilaurakot and Ramgram World Heritage nomination process), printed pp. 70–72 (PDF pp. 83–85). Checked 2026-10-11
Official data
- महालेखापरीक्षकको त्रिसट्ठीऔँ वार्षिक प्रतिवेदन, २०८३ (63rd Annual Report of the Auditor General, 2083): chapter 'प्रदेश मन्त्रालय तथा निकाय' (provincial ministries and bodies) and start of the local-level chapter — Office of the Auditor General, Nepal, 2083 BS (released 2026-05-18); audits FY 2081/82. Provincial chapter: para 3 (Provincial Consolidated Fund spending by province), printed p. 903; para 4 (vehicle tax not distributed), p. 904; para 11 (provincial laws passed and pending), p. 905; para 13 (fiscal transfers by province) and para 14 (revenue estimate vs receipts), p. 906; para 16 (budget vs spending) and para 18 (spending from internal sources), pp. 907–908; para 21 (duplicate structures) and para 22 (consolidated financial reports not prepared), p. 909; para 26 (irregularities by province), p. 911. Local-level chapter para 3 (local levels per province), pp. 911–912. Checked 2026-10-11
Change history
- 2026-10-13 — Expanded the province challenge into the same eight-question format as national issues. (Regional issues deserve equally accessible evidence, options, responsibilities and tracking. Original dates and sources retained; policy options are editorial proposals.)
