Spending Rs. 74 billion of reconstruction program is unlikely this fiscal

Kathmandu December 9- The government might not be able to spend Rs74 billion, the total budget allocated for the reconstruction programmes this fiscal year, as the National Planning Commission (NPC) has demanded programmes worth just Rs49 billion from various ministries. The commission has been authorised to look over post-quake rebuilding works until the formation of reconstruction authority.

The Finance Ministry has said it has provided an extra Rs 6 billion to Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund to purchase warm clothes for the April 25 earthquake victims at the rate of Rs10,000 per family. This would still leave Rs19 billion of budget planned to be spent through the authority idle.

NPC Vice-chairman Yubaraj Khatiwada said that they had asked the ministries to submit programmes for two-thirds of the total allocated budget meant for the authority, holding the rest to be mobilised by the authority after its formation.

However, the fate of the authority hangs in balance due to differences between the ruling CPN-UML and the main opposition Nepali Congress over the reconstruction bill. The NC wants to continue with the appointments it had made through a provision in the new bill by the then government under Sushil Koirala but the UML remains opposed to the idea.

“The delay in authority’s formation has increased fears that the remaining budget won’t be utilised,” said a Finance Ministry official. Even the NPC has doubts about the ministries’ ability to spend Rs49 billion in construction programmes. “As construction materials are in short supply, spending two-thirds of the budget will be a big challenge,” said Khatiwada. Source: TKP