March 24: Although the government allocates budget for projects of national importance every year, such projects hardly get completed on time. One of the reasons behind the delay in implementation of many such projects is that the projects are selected by leaders for popularity instead of the need of the people.

The progress of National Pride Projects is disappointing. According to Jagdish Prasad Agrawal, an economic and political analyst, the problem has arisen due to the competition among leaders to divide the budget in their constituencies for political gain. He views that political influence in the selection of development projects and resource allocation has overshadowed the real need.

Stakeholders say that the trend of dividing budget for projects has not been able to guarantee development. While the government is preparing the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2078/79, experts have suggested the government to prioritize need over popularity in the selection of projects. Agrawal states that it is time to reconsider the effectiveness of the scheme which has been in operation for 20-25 years in the name of national pride projects.

"Even today, financial resources are being mobilized for the 20/25 year old plans," he said.

The private sector has also suggested that the selection of the projects and their management should be made the main objective of the economic policy while the country moves on the path of federalism. Time and resources are being wasted when projects are not completed on time.

Although the Development Committee of the Parliament had directed not to spend more than six years on any national pride project, the government has been ignoring this during budget allocation.

Even the Financial Comptroller General’s Office has been considering the lack of clear selection criteria and poor implementation of the plan as obstacles in achieving the target.

The annual report released by the Financial Comptroller General’s Office some time ago stated that the lack of criteria for announcing the plans was the cause of the chaos in development. Also, the lack of skilled manpower has weakened the implementation of the projects.

"We have the practice of leading the project by the administrative manpower. Project implementation and administration are different issues. We need technical manpower to move the plan forward, ” said Agrawal.

Agrawal claims that selection of plans and proper use of resources will not be possible with the administrative manpower. Experts say that the announcement of plans without paying attention to the manpower for implementation is the problem.

Entrepreneur Navneet Agrawal says that those responsible for moving forward the plan should be held accountable for effective implementation of the plans.

Former president of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ashok Kumar Vaidya says that there should be a comprehensive review of the implementation of past budgets before announcing a new budget.

“The government should take action if the conditions are not fulfilled by signing an agreement with the officer responsible for the project. Rewards should also be given to those who complete the work on time,” he said.

The government has provision for the reward and punishment policy but it has not been implemented yet.