Bajura is the poorest district in Nepal, while Mustang is the richest

The poorest families in Nepal are found in Bajura, while the wealthiest families are found in Mustang, according to the most recent data from the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA). The poor identification program, of which this analysis is a component, has been completed in 77 districts, 64 of which have had data analyzed. In 49 districts, identity cards for low-income families have been distributed, and data analysis is still ongoing in 13 other districts.

Bajura residents had the highest percentage of impoverished families among the 64 districts where the data was analyzed. Sixty-three percent of Bajura’s 21,711 families, or families overall, are impoverished, according to the MoLMCPA. In Bajura, it indicates that 13,815 families live in poverty. 3,059 of these families are generally poor, 4,262 are middle-class, and 6,494 are extremely poor. With 12,684 families and a poverty rate of 57.68 percent, Kalikot is the second poorest district. 3,951 families are moderately poor, 2,748 families are marginally poor, and 5,985 families are extremely poor.

Bajhang is closely behind, with 16,458 families, or 56.19 percent, classified as impoverished. According to the MoLMCPA, there are 7,944 extremely poor families in Bajhang, 5,013 moderately poor families, and 3,501 marginally poor families. Mustang, on the other hand, has the lowest percentage of impoverished families—just 5.03 percent out of 2,266 families there. Just 31 families are extremely poor out of this total, followed by 34 moderately poor and 49 marginally poor families.

With only 5.5% of its 1,152 families classified as poor, Manang is the second least impoverished district. The remaining families in these neighborhoods are thought to be well off. There are only six extremely poor families in Manang out of the total number of families. In a similar vein, 39 families live in marginal poverty and 14 families live in moderate poverty. The urban districts that still need to be examined include the Kathmandu Valley. “Therefore, it is evident from the list of 77 districts in which the data has been received and analyzed that Bajura and Kalikot will likely continue to be the poorest districts even after data analysis is completed,” said Jhabindra Pandey, head of the MoLMCPA’s poor identification and standards section. “To date, the total number of poor families recognized across 64 districts is 1,051,513 families, of which 584,696 families are extremely poor families, 283,950 moderately poor families, and 202,867 marginally poor families,” she continued.

Identity cards have been distributed by the MoLMCPA to classify families according to their poverty level. Extremely poor families get a red card, those that are moderately poor get a yellow card, and those that are marginally poor get a blue card. Since the program’s launch eleven years ago, millions of rupees have been lost due to poor identification. According to the MoLMCPA, the program cost close to Rs 2 billion between 2075 BS and 2078 BS. The course first started in 2070 BC. In addition to carrying out ongoing identity card distribution and analysis, the MoLMCPA is still working to identify and support low-income families throughout Nepal.

National Vigilance Center: Trial centers “intentionally fail” examinees in order to demand money

The National Vigilance Center (NVC) has determined that test takers are failing because a number of driving license trial centers in the Kathmandu Valley are not following the guidelines. The NVC secretary, Ram Aadhaar Sah, claimed that these trial centers, which are run by the provincial government, purposefully fail the applicants and force them to get fictitious licenses in exchange for bribes. “Fake licenses are bred in the valley’s trial centers, according to Sah. Without regulation of these centers, fake licenses will keep being obtained.”

A team was assembled by the NVC in March of last year to carry out a thorough investigation and observation of the valley’s trial centers. According to the NVC’s report, five trial centers in the valley did not perform practical tests in compliance with the 2074 BS Operational Guidelines for Driving Test Centers. This disparity casts doubt on the validity of the practical tests that these centers administer. “It was noted that the five trial centers administered practical examinations in violation of the established guidelines, which led to students’ failure.,” Sah stated.

The report states that during the practical exam, the trial centers did not adhere to the prescribed layout (design) and sequencing. The guidelines state that a certain distance—which shouldn’t be too long or too short—must be traveled for the practical test. The NVC report does, however, point out specific examples of trial centers that did not follow this requirement. In a similar vein, the criteria state that when taking the practical test, the traffic light should be positioned directly in front of the zebra crossing. The monitoring team’s coordinator, Buddhi Khanal, claims that certain trial centers do not install traffic lights in accordance with this standard.

“The examinees get confused when the traffic light is not kept according to the standards,” according to the report of the NVC, “It is highly unlikely that the tests taken at these centers meet the requirements to be deemed lawful, as some trial centers do not adhere to the Operation of Driving Test Center Guidelines 2074 BS.” It has been decided, therefore, to give the appropriate officials of the trial centers and the traffic management office instructions to implement the law’s prescribed standards and to act in accordance with the law.

The NVC report claims that the following locations have not conducted practical tests in accordance with the guidelines: Easy Way Trial Center in Radhe Radhe, Bhaktapur; Vehicle Academy and Research Center Pvt Ltd, Gurjudhara; Nepal Driving and Reconditioning Center Pvt Ltd, Gokarneshwor; Suzuki Driving School Pvt Ltd, Ekantakuna; and City Driving Training Institute, Lalitpur. The report emphasizes that the trial centers do not have the required vehicles, designated examination areas, or physical infrastructure in accordance with the driver training center’s operating guidelines. Monitoring has shown that there have been cases where the trial centers have made examinees use their own cars for the practical test, which increases the students’ risk of failing, said Sah.

The provincial government of Bagmati is negligent

Senior NVC officials feel that the provincial government of Bagmati has ignored efforts to control or close down trial centers that operate illegally. Trial centers are governed by and function under the authority of the provincial government. The provincial government of Bagmati has already received two letters from NVC requesting that the trial centers that are operating outside of the law be brought under the legal purview or shut down.

According to Sah, the NVC has attempted to get a response in writing twice to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Bagmati Provincial Government, and the trial centers, but to no avail. “This suggests to us that the Bagmati provincial government is unwilling to legally impose the trial centers—which are subpar.” Sah continued. According to a source, trial centers are pressuring applicants to get licenses illegally in order to profit from the sale of licenses by purposefully making them fail exams.