24th December 2021, Kathmandu
Gandaki government’s own data center. The state government and 85 local level data centers will be there.
The Gandaki state government is planning to set up its own data center at Pokhara Metropolitan City-17. The Gandaki government has allocated Rs 67 million in the current fiscal year for the establishment of a data center.
The Ministry of Law, Communications, and Provincial Assembly Affairs has stated that the data center is being constructed at the expense of the federal government.
According to the ministry, so far the official data of Gandaki province is under the control of the federal government.
After the establishment of the center, the statistics of the Gandaki state government and all 85 local levels of Gandaki will remain in the state.
Minister Bindukumar Thapa said that an ‘integrated data repository’ is being set up for the safe storage of local-level data under the state government and Gandaki. “The process is moving forward,” he said.
He said that the implementation was delayed due to a lack of land owned by the state. The land for the data center is being owned by the Pokhara Upatyaka Nagar Vikas Samiti. The ministry has stated that discussions are underway with Pokhara metropolis for land acquisition.
According to Khubiram Pokhrel, information officer of the ministry, the process of purchasing materials has also been stopped as the ownership of the land has been acquired by the state. The rest of the work will move forward after discussions with the metropolis for the land.
A three-member data identification task force was formed under the coordination of Himal Chandra Aryal, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry, comprising Survey Officer and Branch Officer of the Ministry. The task force was given 15 days.
The task force had submitted the report to Minister Thapa on November 29, 2008, after selecting the land.
According to the report, there will be no problem with the establishment of a data center if 2,543 square meters of land on the north and south side of Lot No. 35 in Pokhara-17 can be used.
The ministry has stated that the center will be established within a year if it gets regular work. Minister Thapa said that the implementation may be delayed due to the land as the land has to be passed by the Municipal Council.
Even though the purpose of the data center is good, there will be problems in implementation, says branch superintendent Ganesh Khanal.
He said that he has gained experience as the head of various municipalities and villages along with the implementation of federalism.
‘If there was a data center in one’s own province, the data of the local government would be stored. The security side would also be assured, ‘he said.