Miscellaneous
Rebuilding yet to get on ministries’ agenda
With budget for the next fiscal to be presented less than a month from now, government agencies have yet to discuss post-earthquake reconstruction amid projections of the annual rebuilding fund for the next year to be capped at Rs150 billionWith budget for the next fiscal to be presented less than a month from now, government agencies have yet to discuss post-earthquake reconstruction amid projections of the annual rebuilding fund for the next year to be capped at Rs150 billion.
Officials worry that the short window for planning could hamper proper budget allocation and effective implementation of the delayed reconstruction works. The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has received information on reconstruction programmes from six ministries so far. They include the ministries of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation; Defence; and Drinking Water and Sanitation.
NRA Spokesperson Ram Prasad Thapaliya said other ministries are expected to submit the details within a few days. “We will be able to start programme-wise budget discussion from next week,” he added.
There have been discussions, however, with the budget preparation teams at a broader level. Officials said the budget preparations were delayed due to the NRA remaining busy with finalising regulations to implement the post-quake reconstruction plan and hosing grant distribution.
Govinda Nepal, chief economic adviser at the Finance Ministry, said discussion on the reconstruction programmes proposed by the NRA would start in the next phase. He admitted that the delay could lead to programmes being finalised without adequate research.
There has been little work in reconstruction as the authority was formed eight months after the April earthquake last year. Displaced families started receiving the first instalment of the rebuilding grants only in April.
The rebuilding authority said it has released Rs22 billion for reconstruction, including Rs14 billion for distributing the first instalment of grants to the homeless families. The NRA had a Rs74 billion budget for the current fiscal year. The total rebuilding funds, however, amounted to Rs91 billion, almost half of the total capital budget.
The slow progress in reconstruction has been blamed for the poor capital expenditure overall. For the next fiscal, the NRA has got a budget ceiling of Rs150 billion. But it could rise based on foreign aid commitments, said an official at the National Planning Commission.
As per the constitution, the new budget should be presented on May 28. The Finance Ministry, the NPC and other line ministries are sorting out regular programmes.