November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the  due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed. Those who submitted the bills for the work completed in the last fiscal year (FY) 2079/80) have not been able to get the payment until the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The Ministry of Finance gave approval to the Ministry of Urban Development to pay the previous year’s dues from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year. However, due to the low budget allocated for the current year, the businessmen could not get the payment, according to the officials.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which has to make the largest number of payments, said that it could not pay due to lack of budget. An official of the ministry said, “The finance ministry gave approval to manage the payment of the last year from the allocated budget for the current year, but due to the low budget for the current year, all the payments are yet to be made.”

Ramhari Pokhrel, deputy director general of the Department of Roads, gave an example and said, “In the current year, a budget of Rs 10 million is allocated for a bridge, and if the payment of Rs 50 million from the previous year is yet to be made, then the department can pay only Rs 10 million. The remaining Rs 40 million will not be received by the entrepreneurs.”

Construction entrepreneurs said that they were excited when the government approved the payment, but they were disappointed because of the lack of implementation. Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that the government is backtracking from its decision.

He said, “The government has pledged to pay the due amount. But the government agencies are facing problems because they do not have enough budget.” He said that if the capital budget is not spent, the economy will not be viable and the construction business as well as other auxiliary industries (such as cement, rods etc.) will also suffer.