KATHMANDU, Feb 15: The national pride projects that the government has given high priority to have spent less than 10 percent of the total allocated budget in the first six months of the current fiscal year.    

Among the projects that could not spend the budget are Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Multipurpose Project (2.08 percent), Melamchi Drinking Water Project (5.89 percent), President Chure Conservation Program (8.75 percent) and Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project (9.14 percent).

Of the 22 projects listed in national pride project, the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Multipurpose Project has been seen spending the lowest budget in the first six months of the current fiscal year. A budget of Rs 2.45 billion was allocated for this project. It has spent only Rs 51 million or 2.08 percent of the budget in the last six months.

The Melamchi Drinking Water Project is also planning to reduce development expenditure in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The government had allocated Rs 5.46 billion for the Melamchi project in the current fiscal year. But the project has spent only 5.89 percent of the allocated amount in six months.

The government has said that the failure to complete the project of national pride on time is due to lack of technical study, financial and managerial capacity of the construction work, lack of regular monitoring and evaluation and inability to mobilize the construction entrepreneurs to complete the work on time.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the cost of the projects has increased as the contracts need to be extended because of delay in the construction work.

The government has decided that it will declare the project as a national pride project only after ascertaining the cost and time of the large and transformative project after finalizing the aspects like pre-operation land acquisition, initial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), tree felling and detailed project report.

“Adequate financial resources will have to be managed by determining the project construction and implementation framework before declaring it as a national pride project,” the mid-term review has stated.

The Melamchi project has spent only Rs 321.8 million in six months. The President Chure Conservation Program is another national pride project that could not spend the allocated budget in the current fiscal year. For this project, a budget of Rs. 1.55 billion was allocated in the current fiscal year. But only Rs 131.8 million has been spent in six months. This is 8.75 percent of the total budget.

The government had allocated Rs. 9.1 billion in the current fiscal year for the much talked about Millennium Challenge Account Nepal project. The project has spent only Rs. 652.1 million in six months. This is 7.16 percent of the total budget.

The government had allocated Rs. 8.84 billion in the current fiscal year for the 1,200-megawatt Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. The project has spent Rs 1.85 billion which is 13.55 percent of the budget on distribution of compensation in six months.

The government has allocated Rs 1.49 billion for the Babai Irrigation Project in the current fiscal year but only Rs 279.6 million has been spent in the last six months.

The government had also listed the Mahakali Irrigation Project as a national pride project from this fiscal year. The project has spent a budget of Rs 268.9 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year. This is 18.65 percent of the total allocation.

The government had allocated Rs. 92.62 billion for national pride projects in the current fiscal year 2020/21. A total of 15.19 percent has been spent in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The national pride projects have spent Rs. 13.98 billion. The expenditure situation of most of the under construction pride projects looks disappointing.

 
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