"No projects worth less than Rs 30 million should be included in the upcoming budget"

KATHMANDU, MARCH 9: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, has emphasized that projects and programs costing less than Rs 30 million should not be proposed in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

He made this statement during separate discussions with officials from the Ministry of Water Supply and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration today. The discussions were part of the budget formulation process for the upcoming fiscal 2025/26.

On the occasion, the finance minister urged government ministries to move away from the practice of including numerous small schemes and programs in the budget. Instead, he stressed the need to prioritize large, transformative, and nationally significant projects that are well-prepared for implementation.

Minister Paudel also highlighted the importance of strengthening the role of provincial and local governments in executing projects within their capacity. He suggested that projects within their jurisdiction should be handed over to them for implementation, even if the central government provides one-time seed funding.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Water Supply Pradeep Yadav, Minister for Federal Affairs Raj Kumar Gupta, National Planning Commission (NPC) Vice Chairman Shivaraj Adhikari, the finance secretary, the revenue secretary, the water supply secretary, and the federal affairs secretary, among other officials.