FinMin says budget will focus on energy, infrastructure

Finance Minister Shankar Prasad Koirala said on Sunday that the next budget would focus mainly on resolving the energy shortage and developing social and economic infrastructure to meet the targeted economic growth of 6 percent. “Good governance and delivering public service are other priorities,” he added.

Addressing a meeting of the secretaries of different ministries and regional chief administrators organised at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Koirala said the government had accorded priority to developing physical infrastructure like the east-west mid-hill highway, postal highway and railway and expanding the capacity of a number of irrigation projects including Sikta, Rani-Jamara and Gularia and Bheri diversion projects. “The other priority areas will be expanding markets for agricultural products, promotion of tourism, export and employment promotion and regional development,” he said.

The MoF called the meeting after ministries demanded greater budget allocations for the next fiscal to seek their suggestions and discuss their proposed programmes. According to the MoF, it has received budget requests for Rs 750 billion against the ceiling of Rs 506 billion.

Finance secretary Santa Raj Subedi urged the secretaries of other ministries to carry out a detailed cost-benefit analysis to fix the allocations for projects under them. “Offices should focus on submitting innovative programmes instead of demanding funding in a haphazard manner,” he added.

Most of the participants stressed expanding infrastructure, amending the Public Procurement Act, effective monitoring and allocating the budget on the basis of population and geographical remoteness. Similarly, promoting information systems and digitized administration procedures and increasing social security schemes were among the other key points raised by the participants.

“Weak monitoring and a defective contract system has resulted in only 30-35 percent of the disbursed funds being used in rural areas,” said Sharada Prasad Trital, regional administrator of the Mid-Western Development Region. He urged the government to increase the budget allocation for the Mid- and Far Western development regions significantly for the development of these sectors.

Energy Secretary Hare Ram Koirala stressed the need to launch the Tamakoshi Hydroelectricity Project as soon as possible and expand transmission lines to allow distribution of its power.

Meanwhile, Gyan Darshan Udas, secretary at the Ministry of Land Reform and Management, asked the MoF to provide necessary funds to start digitization of its offices in 18 districts.

Suresh Pradhan, officiating secretary at the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, urged the government to concentrate on preventing project duplication while approving the projects. “Besides, the public procurement system should also be differentiated for the ministries and the local authorities to make project implementation result oriented.”

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