NPC asks for district-wise project details

KATHMANDU, JUL 05 -

Amid intense pressure from lawmakers to provide them Rs 50 million each to fund development projects in their electoral areas, the National Planning Commission ( NPC ) has asked all the ministries to submit their district-wise programmes and projects categorized according to constituencies.

Initially, the government had balked at releasing so much money citing lack of funds and possible misuse. It buckled after Constituent Assembly members from all the parties banded together to push their demand. The erstwhile Parliamentarian Development Fund had drawn much criticism over alleged misappropriation of such money. “We have asked the ministries and government agencies to submit the details of their district-level programmes and projects , and the resources that have been set aside for each constituency for the next fiscal year,” said NPC Vice-Chairman Govinda Raj Pokharel. “The move will help the government decide how to address the lawmakers’ demand.”

The present development programme has distributed small projects according to district, and there are projects that overlap two districts. There are central level projects too. “We have asked the ministries and government agencies to break down the programmes and projects that are planned to be implemented in each district.”

The NPC has not asked for information about central level projects and projects that straddle two districts, Pokharel added. It wants the information by Sunday as the budget is scheduled to be presented by mid-July.

It will cost the government as much as Rs 12 billion to fulfil the lawmakers’ demand. So it has proposed to remodel the existing projects by breaking them down according to constituencies which will not require additional funding.

The government has also proposed to create a monitoring system in each constituency which will be conducted by a team of lawmakers led by the elected parliamentarian. The idea is to expedite project implementation and ensure financial transparency .

There are ongoing road projects in 90 percent of the districts which are being implemented by the District Development Committees (DDCs). A majority of the smaller projects are conducted through the DDCs.

Source: The Kathmandu Post