Kathmandu: Finance Minister Rameshore Khanal has decided to cut small-scale projects in order to manage resources for reconstruction after the Gen Z movement and for the upcoming elections in March.
Along with the decision, Minister Khanal has also formed a three-member task force to manage resources, stating that 1,300 projects will be scrapped.
Speaking at a meeting with the Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal (SEJON) on Thursday, the finance minister said that cutting 1,300 projects would free up resources worth Rs 110 billion.
“By reducing the budget of 1,300 projects, Rs 110 billion can be raised, which will provide some relief,” he said.
He clarified that projects not included in the Project Bank, among others, would be cut.
According to him, discontinuing fragmented projects would not cause harm, and the freed-up funds could instead be used to rebuild damaged government structures.
Minister Khanal said that government buildings and infrastructure damaged during the Gen Z protests need to be reconstructed, which requires a large budget, leading to the decision to reduce allocations for fragmented projects.
The Ministry of Finance also believes that not implementing such small projects will not create significant problems and that the redirected funds can effectively be used for reconstruction.
Fragmented projects are those under Rs 30 million. In the current fiscal year’s federal budget, there are many projects worth as little as Rs 100,000. Since such projects do not have a long-term impact, cutting their budgets will not cause major loss to the state, according to the ministry.
The task force will recommend how to arrange resources for the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 4.
The task force members include Joint Secretary Uttar Kumar Khatri, head of the Revenue Management Division, and Joint Secretary Dhaniram Sharma, head of the Foreign Aid Coordination Division.
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