Interviwe With Rabindra Adhikari

The parliamentary Development Committee on Thursday criticized the government for not being able to spend the money set aside for development projects. Concerned by the poor spending, the House panel on Thursday directed the government and the concerned line ministries to prioritize

development works and increase development expenditure. the government, the ministries of Finance, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Federal Affairs and Local Development and the National Planning Commission to productive use of the budget allocated for development works. “Almost five months of the fiscal year has passed, but the development expenditure stands at a meagre 6 percent,” said Rabindra Adhikari, chair of the committee. “This fact clearly shows that our development work is being carried out at an alarming slow place. It also indicates that the executive has very little will for development.” Adhikari also blamed the practice of allocating funds for projects without proper preparation for the low level of expenditure, and directed the concerned authorities to stop setting aside money for projects that are not ready. The committee also pointed to delays in approving development projects, obstruction at project sites by locals, lack of construction materials and the government’s failure to blacklist non-performing contractors for the low development expenditure. The panel has instructed the concerned authorities to send a list of government officials failing to submit details of the development expenditure under their purview within 15 days. “Moreover, contractors who fail to complete their projects on time should be blacklisted immediately,” said Adhikari. Chief Secretary Som Lal Subedi blamed political instability for the low development expenditure saying frequent changes in government followed by changes in the bureaucracy created chaos in the development effort.

Write Comment Below: