Discontinue with sick projects, considering resource constraint, NPC to Finance Ministry

Kathmandu, April 21: The National Planning Commission (NPC) has recommended the Finance Ministry to significantly slash sick and troubled projects, citing the potentiality of resources constraint for the fiscal year 2082-83 BS (2025/26).    

It has hinted the pressure on the sector of compulsory responsibility in the upcoming fiscal year, advising the Ministry to discontinue with failed and problematic projects. It has come with such advice in its report about the discussions based on policies and programmes relating to the formulation of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.    

"There is a less possibility of a significant reform in revenue mobilization in the upcoming fiscal year. The arrival of foreign grants has been gradually decreased for the past few years and the obtainment of foreign loan has been not in alignment with the commitments," the report states, adding that being based on all these possibilities, it is warranted to take measures for coping with the limited sources for budget management.    

The Commission has already recommended the government to prepare the budget by remaining within the ceiling of Rs 1,965 billion.    

The portion of current and mandatory responsibilities has gradually increased in the budget. The increasing size of public debt, payment of principal and interest, remunerations for employees and the social security allowances are major factors of expenditures in the budget and the growing size of such expenses continue to put pressure on the budget making procedures. This situation has demanded the need to reduce allocations to the development projects.    

Similarly, the reconstruction efforts after the Jajarkot earthquake and the September (2024) water-induced disasters and the situation for mobilizing additional sources for social security and health insurance have put the pressure on the selections of budget priorities.    

As the Commission said, the priority to the payment of responsibilities created by relevant ministries and bodies has caused the situation to limiting source mobilisations in other sectors.    (RSS)