Only 25 percent private sector related projects outlined in budget plan fully implemented

Kathmandu, Aug 21: Only 25 percent of the private sector related plans and programmes outlined in the budget statement of last fiscal year are fully executed, according to a report launched today. The ‘Budget Watch’ report prepared by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and the Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal (SEJON) unveiled that implementation part of the 73 points related to private sector and economy included in the budget of fiscal year 2023/24 was largely dismal. While 18 points included in the budget were fully implemented, 51 points were partially enforced while four points were not implemented at all, the report unveiled here today stated. Chief Secretary of government of Nepal Leela Devi Gadtaula, during the launch of the report, said that thematic ministries and subordinate ministries should be responsibly deliver for effective implementation of the annual budget of the government. Chief Secretary Gadtaula shared that the list of new works to be carried out by the incumbent government along with programmes to implement annual budget were being prepared. “The incumbent government is preparing action-plans to be executed within 100-days. It would be important to set priorities and give an impetus to their implementation,” asserted Gadtaula. She added that the desired results are likely when the concerned ministries and agencies work responsibly and remain accountable towards implementation of the issues in the budget. Similarly, CNI President Rajesh Kumar Agrawal informed the ‘budget watch’ was initiated to oversee the implementation status of the commitments made by the government through annual budget. He was hopeful that the conclusions and findings of the report would be useful to the policy makers and government. According to him, although the implementation of budget recorded some progress in the last fiscal year as compared to previous fiscal year, the overall implementation status painted a bleak picture. As per the report, most of points included in the last fiscal year were related to policy and law formulation. In lack of acts, regulations, legislation and procedural guidelines, most of the programmes and plans could not make headway, the report mentioned.