KATHMANDU, June 14: The government has spent over Rs 1.6 billion in an effort to identify the poor families across Nepal, but the task remains unfinished even after more than a decade. Initiated in 2069 by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, the project aimed to provide basic concessions and facilities to the impoverished families in the country.

As of now, data collection is still ongoing in 28 districts. The ministry reports that 615,000 families in the remaining 49 districts have been identified as poor, with a total expenditure of Rs 1.6192 billion, averaging Rs 2,633 rupees per family.

Due to incomplete data collection, the government has not issued identity cards to the identified poor families in these 28 districts. The Office of the Auditor General highlighted in its 61st annual report that the indefinite timeline for completing this identification work has deprived genuinely poor families of essential state-provided benefits.