Delay in spending budget would impact economic growth which has been revised at around 2 percent from 6 percent due to the blockade coupled with the effect of the earthquake.Ramesh KC, under- secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, who monitors sand mines and that of aggregates, admitted there are still problems of sand and aggregates in some districts.
There is no official figure of demand and supply of sand and aggregates required in development works be it construction of public infrastructures or private enterprises.
Om Narayan Sharma, chief of Bhairahawa Regional International Airport, informed that they need 600,000 square meters of boulders as well as sand and aggregates for the construction of runway and other infrastructures but the supply in the market is very little.
A cabinet meeting recently decided to allow the project to excavate from Tinau River but the Ministry of Environment allowed them to excavate only manually. "Manual excavation does not help them at all as they require at least 200 truckloads each day for keeping stock for the upcoming rainy season," added Sharma. Spending of the development budget is still below 15 percent by mid-March out of the target of Rs 208 billion. Spending of the development budget can create demands in the market as well as generation of both short-term and long-term jobs.
Excavation in Chure is restricted while local firms operating excavation mines with permission from the District Development Committee have limited supply than the market demand and the supply of the same to mega or medium size public projects are not met as their demand is huge.
In an attempt to address major problems in project execution, the cabinet decided in January and allowed project offices excavate themselves from mines by taking DDC's permission and paying fees but this has not yet been implemented.
But the delay in approval of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by the Ministry of Environment is another factor leading to supply crunch of the construction materials. KC said that piecemeal approach taken in addressing the problem that persists since last four to five years is the main reason behind recurrence of the problem. "This should be addressed by issuing a separate law or guidelines to manage this properly," added KC. An official at the National Planning Commission who is not allowed to speak to the media said, "There is not a single reason behind low spending. Unfriendly policies related to environment and forest that hinder development are the major reasons behind recurrence of shortage of supply of construction materials."
Related story
Acquiring forest a stumbling block for Upper Karnali
