Gandaki Province

Geography

Gandaki Province lies in the western part of the country. It is bordered by Trishuli River, Budhi Gandaki River and Bagmati Province in the east, Lumbini Province in the west, China in the north and Lumbini Province and Uttar Pradesh of India in the south. It lies between 82052’45” & 85012’01” east longitude and 27026’15” & 29012’01” North latitude.

It has an area of 21914.97sq.km and that is 14.75% of the total area of the country. 38.01% of provincial land is covered by forest. (MoF; Economic Survey 2076/77) 17.8% land is arable and 24.7% of the Province land is covered by snow, and 0.4% of land is covered by water.

Topographically, the province can be divided into four main regions starting from the North, viz. 1) High Himalayas, 2) High Mountains, 3) Middle Mountains and Inner Madhesh.

CLIMATE

Gandaki Province has climatic variations, which is associated with the diverse nature of its topography and altitude pronounced by Bhabar, Chure, Inner Madhesh and valley formed by various rivers and mountains less than 1500 m has sub-tropical climate. Similarly, area ranging from 1500 – 3000 meter has temperate climate and Himalayan regions at an altitude of 3000 to 4500 meters with Alpine climate. In the High Himalayan region of the province we can find Tundra climatic condition. Gandaki Province has an average rainfall of between 2500-250 mm. High Himalayan district Mustang has the lowest annual rainfall of 146mm. Similarly, Lumle in the Parbat district of the province has highest annual rainfall record (5284mm).

Apart from the topographical divisions, administratively there are 11 Districts. As per the new constitutional provision there are 85 local governments composed of 1 Metropolitan City, 26 municipalities and 58 rural-municipalities with 757 wards.

Social and Cultural Diversity

Total population of the Gandaki Province is 2,403,757. Out of total population 60.11% of the provincial population is residing in the urban area. There are 88 ethnic groups in the province. The major ethnic groups are Brahman Hill (21.6%), Magar (18.9%), Chhetri (13.4%), Gurung (11.4%), Kami (8.7%), Newar (4.1%) etc. Among the 47 spoken languages in the province 73.5% speak Nepali, 9.9% speak Magar and 8.8% speak Gurung.

Economy

As per Economic Survey (2019/20), Gandaki Province contributes 9% to national GDP. It is estimated to have a growth rate of 2.7% in the fiscal year 2019/20.

There are 512 commercial banks, 220 development banks, 29 finance companies, 518 Microfinance companies. Similarly, there are 182 life and 154 non life insurance companies and their branches in the province.

Agriculture

Agriculture and tourism is the mainstay of province economy. Productivity of paddy in the province is 3.76 MT per ha, which is below the national average productivity of 3.8MT per ha. Out of the total paddy production in the country Gandaki Province comprises 7.4%. Similarly 4.7% of Wheat and 16.0% Maize is produced in the province. (MoF; Economic Survey 2076/77)

According to National Sample Census of Agriculture 2010/11 there are 163926.7 ha of arable land in the province. According to irrigation department only 11.6% of provincial area is useful for agriculture. Out of this area only 45.88% agriculture land is under various irrigation systems i.e. 55% of the provincial agriculture is based on monsoon rain.

According to Economic Survey 2076/77, 38568 small and cottage industries are registered under the department of industry in the province empowering approximately 269590 people. There are 12539 companies registered under company act in the province.
11298 km of road is constructed in the Province. Out of which 9370 km is blacktopped.

Electrification

Gandaki Province has seen a considerable growth in electrification. Until the year 2076/77 the province generates 539.43 MW of electricity from various hydro-projects. According to Nepal Electricity Authority report 92.79% household in the province are electrified. Total number of electricity consumers in the province is 380579, consuming 428554 MWh of energy annually. According to NEA, Distribution and Consumer Service Directorate 95.57% of consumers are domestic users; loss of electricity in the province is 8.72% for the year 2076/77. Out of the total loss Myagdi distribution center contributes the highest loss in the province in the year (2076/77).

Education & Health

There are 4317 schools in the province with 592646 students including 290791 girls and 301855 boys. All together there are 22168 teachers (temporary and permanent) working in various levels of community schools.
There are 15 government hospitals, 24 primary health care centers, and 491 health posts in the province.

Policies and Programmes for fiscal year 2078/79

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