NPC suggests ministries to focus on project implementation

Kathmandu, Dec. 9

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has suggested the ministries to concentrate on expediting the development projects and improve the mobilisation of the development budget.

The total capital expenditure stands at just 9.25 per cent, Rs. 32.64 billion in the first four and half months of the current fiscal year 2020/21, according to the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO).

Total expenditure is about 28 per cent of the total Rs. 1474.64 billion budget for this year. The size of capital budget is Rs. 352.9 billion.

Speaking at the ongoing Pre-National Development Action Committee (NDAC) meeting on Tuesday, NPC Vice-Chairman Prof. Dr. Pushpa Raj Kandel said that the ministries and development agencies should not show coronavirus as an excuse for the poor progress at the development projects.

He asked the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA) to expedite the data collection of the poor households and prepare national report on the topic.

The meeting aims at discussing the issues and challenges of the development project and programmes implemented by the ministries and their agencies which couldn't be resolved the ministry-level Development Action Committee and needed to be taken to the NDAC meeting and finding their solutions.

Likewise, it will identify sick projects chat need continuous monitoring and supervision and issue direction to expedite their progress.

The NPC will also guide the ministries in terms of monitoring and evaluation of the projects and programmes, recommend on possible solutions to the problems.

The pre-NDAC meeting that begun on Monday will run till Friday. MoLMCPA, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and National Reconstruction Authority presented their four-month progress status on Wednesday.

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs are scheduled to present and review their status of budget mobilisation and project implementation on Thursday.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 10 December 2020.