Per capita development expenditure up 16pc at Rs 3‚580
KATHMANDU:
The government’s per capita development expenditure jumped by 16.38 per cent this fiscal year as budget allocation for various districts went up.
The government is spending Rs 3,580 per person for development activities in various districts in fiscal 2014-15, as against Rs 3,076 in the last fiscal which ended on July 16, says the latest Annual Development Programme Volume II, also known as Budget Part II, which will be made available to parliamentarians for discussion on Wednesday morning.
Per capita development spending went up this fiscal as budget allocation for various districts went up by 16 per cent.
Per capita development expenditure is derived on the basis of funds allocated for various district-level development projects and programmes. It may also include budget earmarked for national-level projects and programmes but only if such
projects and programmes are being implemented in a single district, said a high-ranking official of the National Planning Commission, the apex body that designs the country’s development programmes.
This means national level projects and programmes that are being implemented in multiple districts will not be taken into consideration while calculating per capita development expenditure.
This fiscal, the government has allocated Rs 97.98 billion for implementation of various projects and programmes in 75 districts of the country.
Budget is allocated to various districts based on priorities laid by the 13th development plan, human development index, population, area, service delivery cost, status of physical infrastructure, remoteness and road density, among others.
However, there is discrepancy in budget earmarked for districts, as another section of the Annual Development Programme Volume II puts the figure at Rs 94.84 billion.
The NPC, which prepares the Annual Development Programme Volume II, could not give valid reason for variation in presentation of the figures.
Despite this confusion, the report shows that Kathmandu district has been earmarked the biggest chunk of funds — Rs 3.42 billion — for this fiscal. Yet, per capita development expenditure here stands at one of the lowest at Rs 1,959.
On the other hand, Manang has been allocated the lowest budget of Rs 303.46 million for this fiscal, but per capita development expenditure in the district stands at Rs 46,415, the highest in the country.
The reason for huge difference in budget allocation and per capita development spending is population density. The population in Kathmandu district hovers around 1.74 million, as per the National Population Census 2011, whereas Manang district is home to only 6,538 people.
Funds scattered
The government appears to have scattered money among numerous small projects this fiscal year as well, despite promises to fund large-scale projects to make monitoring effective. The government has allocated Rs 287.25 billion for implementation of 491 development projects and programmes this fiscal year. Last fiscal, allocation of Rs 241.57 billion was made for implementation of 455 projects and programmes. “The number of projects went up as even small projects, like those of roads, have been given separate budget heading,” a high-ranking official of the National Planning Commission said. Of the total fund allocated for development projects and programmes this fiscal, Rs 25.09 billion has been earmarked for projects of national pride, Rs 20.11 billion for projects and programmes to be implemented in specific areas, Rs 144.07 billion for central-, regional- and district-level projects and programmes and Rs 97.98 billion for district-level projects and programmes, says the Annual Development Programme Volume II.
Source: THT
