Villages Around Model Town Emptying as Residents Relocate Due to Lack of Infrastructure
Revised news summary. Over the past 15 years, 158 families have relocated from villages connected to Patan, Baitadi, due to a lack of drinking water, roads, and education. Despite 15 years passing since Patan was declared a model town, infrastructure and development plans remain stalled, with most structures in dilapidated condition. The main land pooling plan for the new town project has not been implemented and the office was merged into the intensive urban planning department.
April 23, Baitadi. Flat fields and large settlements on the agricultural terraces. These are the scenes where the government has declared 10 model towns across the country, including the villages surrounding Patan in Baitadi. Villages such as Paripatan, Lorkha, Meltdaa, Tunegair, Dobra, Paudi, and Bedauti fall under Ward No. 6 of the Model Town Patan Municipality, connected to Patan Market. As 15 years pass since the model town declaration, these villages are gradually depopulating.
The model town status was announced during fiscal year 2066–067 (2009-10). As expected development failed to materialize, the lack of road infrastructure, irrigation, drinking water, education, and health services has led these villages to consistently lose population. Meltdaa village previously had 35 families, now only 14 remain. According to local resident Dan Bahadur Chand, nearly 20 families have relocated to the Terai region. Chand states, “There are no roads here, there is no drinking water, there is a canal for irrigation but no water. Why would people stay?”
More than half of the houses in Meltdaa are now empty and paddy fields lie fallow. According to local Shanti Chand, there are virtually no households left to participate in funeral processions, and hundreds of ropani of land remain uncultivated. Similarly, in Bedauti village, where roughly 20 families once lived, only six remain currently. Local resident Labdev Chand reports that dozens of families have moved away and the village is almost deserted.
Ram Bahadur Chand, a teacher at Meltdaa, notes that if drinking water, irrigation, and infrastructure facilities were improved, migration would decrease. However, the new town project office has failed to perform as expected. “No significant work has been done in drinking water, infrastructure, education, or health sectors. Construction projects have been stalled for years — how can we feel any real development?” Chand questions.
According to Ward Secretary Navin Bisht of Patan Municipality–6, 158 families have relocated in the last 10 years, with 134 families moving out in just the past five years. Ward Chairperson Rajendra Bisht attributes the steady outflow of youth to lack of employment and inadequate development. The new town project office has yet to implement the critical land pooling plan, which has prevented locals from experiencing tangible development.
Fifteen years on, the various model town plans remain unimplemented. Former Chairperson Keshav Bahadur Chand explains budget shortages have left many projects in limbo. Most of the 10 towns previously announced have faced delays even before proper implementation. The land pooling plan remains unfinished and unable to acquire necessary land.
Development of new infrastructure and progress as a model town have been sluggish. Plans included roadway infrastructure, drainage, waste management, drinking water, electrification, and hospital construction. The government had targeted settling approximately 100,000 residents in the 10 model towns. In Patan, however, there is little evidence of model town progress beyond limited infrastructure like a solar streetlight and open ground.
Former Chairperson of the Municipal Development Committee, Jaysingh Bisht, says, “There are only fragmented plans, with no concrete measures to prevent the exodus from mountain settlements. Coordination between the office and local representatives is needed to move plans forward.”
Many structures built under the Patan new town project have fallen into disrepair. The model bus park initiated in fiscal year 2071/72 (2014/15) never opened and is now dilapidated. Hirapur recreational park has also degraded without development. An integrated waste management center has yet to be established, worsening rubbish management in the market area.
Land pooling, a key element of the new town implementation, has not progressed. Discussions are ongoing in Nangadi Batama near Patan Market with locals. The land pooling process involves surveying all plots in a designated area, developing wide roads, drainage, open spaces, and community facilities, and returning a portion of land to owners as homestead plots. Financing requires selling a small portion of land from each plot. This approach enables provision of roads, electricity, water, communication networks, playgrounds, health institutions, banks, and shopping complexes.
The new town development office has been integrated into the Intensive Urban and Building Construction Planning department since last December. Only three million rupees have been allocated this fiscal year for the intensive urban project, according to project chief Jhank Bahadur Thapa. “This year, the new town project plans to construct an integrated auditorium, but work has stalled due to lack of budget for open contracts,” he noted.
