Samtse town leaders seek urgent development funding after years of stalled progress. They aim to increase infrastructure improvements and seek additional funding for the planned Samtse Throm. Samtse Thromde Ngotshab’s Som Kumar Pradhan criticizes government’s inability to blacktop roads and provide basic urban infrastructure, citing delays in development under secondary status. Some parts of LAP 2, which runs along the Phuentsholing-Samtse route and includes Daragoan, Gurung Basti, and the vicinity of the Damdhum substation, do not have access to water supplies. Residents in areas lacking urban services pay taxes and collect utility bills, but funding for town development projects remains challenging due to conflicting demands.
A budget of Nu 311 million was suggested for the most recent fiscal year, but it was not approved. According to Zangmo, the CD budget provides funding for the ongoing projects. According to officials, Samtse sent the Cabinet Secretariat three SDP ideas, one of which was for town development.
The only permitted projects were the borewell construction and the vegetable market. Regarding road development, officials clarified that constructing roads before finishing other infrastructure projects leaves them open to damage right away. Choeku Wangchuk, Samtse Dzongrab, stated that the CD funding has been used to finish the formation cutting for roads and that the dzongkhag is still concentrating on town development using the resources at its disposal.
