By Our Correspondent
Hetauda, Nov. 19: Chief Minister of Bagmati Province Rajendra Prasad Pandey has said that the industrial areas currently under the federal government would be brought under the provincial government.
Stating that the industrial areas under the federal government are now in miserable condition, he said that the provincial government had sent a proposal to the Prime Minister and concerned ministers to bring the industrial areas operating in Bagmati Province under its control.

The industrial areas have reached a stage of disrepair as the federal government has not handed over the industrial areas to the province and local governments, CM Pandey said while inaugurating the second convention of the Federation of Nepalese Cottage and Small Industries, Bagmati Province and the second conference of the Women Entrepreneurs Committee in Hetaunda on Wednesday.
Stating that the assets of the industrial sector have been misused, he said, "We have sent a proposal to bring four industrial zones, including Hetauda and Balaju, under the provincial government."
A provincial-level investment board and policy are needed to attract foreign investment, Chief Minister Pandey said, adding that domestic and small scale industries are not in the priority list of the state in Nepal.

“We need a change in the perception for the protection and use of Nepali products and classification of industries,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Indra Bahadur Baniya, leader of the Nepali Congress Bagmati Province Parliamentary Party, said that it was necessary to provide concessional loans to small and cottage industries.

He said that the present coalition government had a policy of collecting taxes and providing facilities to the industrialists.
Shyam Giri, central president of the Federation of Nepalese Cottage and Small Industries, Surya Bahadur Kandel, president of Bagmati Province and Lekhraj Pokhrel, president of the Federation of Industries, Makwanpur, among others, emphasised industry-friendly policy for industrialisation.
More than 250 delegates from different districts of Bagmati attended the convention.